Monday, February 8, 2010

It's The Watson Twins' Vinyl District!


Whether on their own or backing Ms. Jenny Lewis, Leigh and Chandra, The Watson Twins' warm harmonies have long been favorites of ours here at TVD and we're delighted to say that they've braved the elements to join us in the TVD offices all this week to blog away with us.

And it's a big week for them indeed:



The Watson Twins are taking over The Vinyl District for the week of 2.9.10 as our new record 'Talking To You, Talking To Me' DROPS! So everyday this week you’ll be getting a daily dose of TWT as we write about venues we love, top vinyl picks, ladies who rock and more.

A couple things before we get started. This is our sophomore release and for the second time around we stuck tried and true to our analog roots. Recording on a 16 track 2” tape machine and of course we had to press this puppy up on vinyl. Some things are just NOT meant to go away, and records… real 12”, 7” and maybe even 45’s of wax are here to stay.

For this week of release, we’ve got a lot of stuff going on. We’ll be back in our hometown of Louisville, KY playing our local indie record store Ear-X-Tacy, in Philly visiting David Dye at NPR’s World CafĂ©, a show at the Bellhouse in Brooklyn, and much more… so stay tuned to The Vinyl District this week!!!

This is gonna be fun… we never “taken over” anything before!


FEMALE SINGERS THAT HAVE INSPIRED | There are so many lovely ladies in the world of music, who continue to pave the way for the rest of us. Sarah Vaughan has a record entitled, It's A Man's World, and ya know what... she ain't lying. So when the world seems a little overwhelming and we need some songs to inspire these are just a handful of the ladies we turn to.

Emmylou Harris | We got a chance to meet this "Singer/Writer/Back-up Vocalist Extraordinaire" and perform the classic "Blue Kentucky Girl" in her presence... wow, talk about nerve-racking! But her southern charm and grace we a complete comfort… not to mention the fact she’s absolutely stunning.

Dolly Parton | "Nine To Five" the movie... the classic song Jolene and her famous quote “Do you know how much it costs to look this cheap?" Big personality, big voice and big... well for a little lady, let's just say she's got a lot going on... not to mention a theme park.

Shirley Brown | Years ago, on a radio station called “The Wave” we heard Shirley's song "Woman to Woman." It blew our mind so much that we went out and bought the record the next day. Shirley can put a monolog in any song, any time, and make it work. If only we had a couple moments like that on "Talking To You, Talking To Me"... don't worry we decided to spare you the inner monologs on this new record, but maybe next time!


Neko Case
| Like a bird powered by the winds of a natural disaster, her voice soars telling stories of cyclones and favorites. We’re fans! Saw her not too long ago, 7th row at The Greek Theater here in Los Angeles, what was an hour and half show flew by in what seemed like minutes.

Cat Power | A woman who knows how to nail a cover like nobody’s business and her originals stand on their own. From "Moon Pix" to "Juke Box" we like it all.

Carole King | "Tapestry" seems to sum up all of Carole's talents... soulful, honest, sweet and beautiful. She's got her heart on her sleeve and it's driving each piano chord... "It's Too Late" is a song that demands to be sung at the top of your lungs. Love it.

Erykah Badu | "Baduizm." Yes we are fans of Ms. Erykah and having seen her live show a number of times, believe us, it is something you will not forget. She's a performer from head to toe and she's got the moves and pipes to prove it.

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Love And Happiness (Mp3)
Dolly Parton - I Will Always Love You (Mp3)
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (Mp3)
Cat Power - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Mp3)
Erykah Badu - Window Seat (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 1 | Patrick & Eugene


Right. I hadn't heard of Patrick & Eugene either up until recently and now I can't get the tunes of these post-modern vaudevillians out of my head. If “precious” weren’t such a pugnaciously pleasant word, I’d probably go straight for it in describing the music of UK duo P&E.

After all, when you string together banjos and ukes, then top the charming scrum off with SPF100 pop vocals and a polka dotted display of whistles, bleeps, bloops and bongos it’s hard not to fall squarely into the adorable category, right?

Decide for yourself as we've got a rare P&E import to give away—a double-A-side 12" with their covers of Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" and Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" as we chug along with our Ten Weeks of Record Store Vinyl Giveaways.



As we mentioned earlier, the rules for these Vinyl Giveaways can't be any simpler: each Monday for the next ten weeks we'll be launching a new RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaway and all you need to do to enter to win is to leave a comment in the comments section to that week's giveaway letting us know why you deserve to win the LP.

Be creative, funny, incisive—whatever it takes to grab our attention to deem you the winner. Most important however is to leave us a contact email address! You can be brilliant as hell, but if we can't track ya' down, you're out of the running. Winners will be notified upon the launch of the next giveaway.

Now, ...go!

Patrick & Eugene - Don't Stop (Mp3)