Friday, February 19, 2010

TVD's (Pie in the Sky) Parting Shots


#5. Nurture the song AND the artist.


Steely Dan - Rikki Don't Lose That Number (Mp3)
Elton John - Daniel (Mp3)
Seals & Crofts - Diamond Girl (Mp3)
Paul McCartney & Wings - My Love (Mp3)
Eagles - Best Of My Love (Mp3)
10cc - I'm Not In Love (Mp3)
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Mp3)
Joni Mitchell - Help Me (Mp3)
Jim Croce - Operator (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Livin' Without You (Mp3)

TVD's The Kora Records SXSW Label Showcase



Not only is DC's The Kora Records hosting something of a label showcase at The Black Cat this coming Monday night (2/22) for which we have a pair of tickets, the label's got an official showcase at SXSW this year which happens at Valhalla on March 2oth.

In what turns out to be a showcase for us, we've hit up the label's acts trekking down to Austin this year for some insight into one of our favorite topics around these parts—record stores. Their favorites, to be exact.


"I used to work at Go! Compact Discs while I was in high school in Arlington. Each employee had a shelf with their name on it where they could stash records they wanted to buy. Most of the time I would sit in a small converted closet and process any new or recently traded stock. This meant that I effectively got first dibs on everything that came in the store... and at a discount no less. I'm sure I wound up spending more money at that place than I ever made, but it remains one of the best jobs I've ever had."

Meredith Bragg - Work and Winter (Mp3)



"My favorite record store would probably have to be Wax 'n Facts in Atlanta. It was in a fringy part of town I wasn't allowed to go to in high school, so of course it became my favorite place to hang out. The clerks never gave me the time of day, especially with my stylistic wardrobe choices (overalls, purple Skechers, glitter makeup, etc etc) and highly refined taste in music (not giving this one away.)

Fortunately, even dorks are allowed in record stores, and is because of this that high school remains marginally bearable, at least for some. I doubt that my friends and I are any cooler now than we were then, but at least our record collections are."

—May Tabol, Pree

Pree - Heaven is a Drag (Mp3)



"I don't have a favourite record shop any more. They've moved or I've moved or they've closed. I don't feel attached to one in particular any more. Spinadisc was the first one I knew, it was the only independent record store in Northampton where I grew up. There were always goths and skater kids outside, I was never in those groups.

I used to order in Twisted Nerve Records, I religiously brought everything that came out on that label, A bit like TKR, good record sleeves, once I sent my Mum in to get me the first release by Alfie, the guy in the shop was impressed, thought she knew her stuff - its still one of my favorite ever records. They had a second hand department upstairs which was awful but I used to sell my old CDs by Britpop bands that I'd bought a few years earlier (Cast, Reef(!), Ocean Colour Scene) and buy new 7's back downstairs. That shops closed now, but I moved first.

Me and Rebekah first lived together in Kensal Green which was about a 20 minute walk from Notting Hill which has Honest Johns, Intoxica, and best of all Rough Trade. Spoilt for choice. Rough Trade West is the best record shop in the world, it just is. I haven't been there for about 5 years but I know it's still the best - look at the walls!I brought a bootleg cassette of a live Buzzcocks gig from the punk who had a stall out the front - that was a good tape, I only have the case though now.

We moved to the Holloway Road after a year and were just down the road from Puregroove, that was the first shop that I knew someone that worked in it, which meant I could go in and just hang out when I had days off - good days. Sometimes I filmed instores for them which is the closest I've ever come to imagining my dream job of working in a record shop, although I've never applied to work in one.

That shops moved now, I still go but its a longer walk, plus its more a bar than a record shop - you need crates or it doesn't really count.

—Iain Pettifer,
Stricken City, Guitarist

Stricken City - Pull The House Down (Skellington Remix) (Mp3)

TVD Live Tease | Adrian Krygowski w/ Molly Hagen and Twins of a Gazelle, Sunday (2/21) at Iota


DC-based acoustic rocker, Adrian "Hardkor" Krygowski celebrates the digital release of his much anticipated new album, Road on the Left, with a full-band release party at the highly acclaimed venue Iota Club & Cafe, in Arlington, VA on February 21st. Opening the evening will be DC's Molly Hagen and Spelling for Bees Collective's "Twins of a Gazelle."

"Road on the Left" was recorded in December/January 2010 at Blue House Studios in Kensington, MD by DC Musicians, Michael Smirnoff on Percussion (No Second Troy, The Blackjacks), Jean Finstad on Bass (Justin Trawick Group), Mark Williams on Guitar (Jonesay), Jon Ozment, Tommy Lepson & Adrian Krygowski.

Five years ago Adrian left a small Minnesota and Wisconsin regional circuit and heartfelt songcraft in the snowy tundra for bigger things. Now, Adrian's constant pummeling of the Boston, NYC, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Chapel Hill markets have built an extensive catalog and regional following from his five short years based on the East Coast.

Adrian Krygowski - I Found You (Mp3)

TVD Live Tease | La Snacks w/ Transmography, Typefighter, and Ionosphere Club, Saturday (2/20) at Velvet Lounge


Remember Marvel Team Up, the Marvel comic from the 1970's that brought together Spider Man and another hero of the same ilk to battle injustice? Well, this morning we've got our pal Jumbo Slice from DC Rock Club sharing the stage with us, and if there' any justice, he'll get you over to Velvet Lounge on Saturday night:

"Greetings from Austin. I heard you've had a bit of snow up there in DC. Well, Texas is sending help in the form of La Snacks. Admittedly, they can't do a damn thing about the Snowmageddon, Snonami, or whatever it's being called. What they can do is put on a rollicking rock show to help you forgot you're in the midst of an arctic winter.

I moved from DC to Austin in April of 2008. It wasn't long after that I discovered La Snacks, stalwarts on the Austin music scene. My first La Snacks show was at Club DeVille in Austin's Red River District. For me, the band's appeal was immediate. They put on a boozy live show that had people dancing and singing as the band cracked wise on each other. Normally, I'm not a fan of stage banter but lead singer Robert Segovia was so engaging and hilarious that I didn't mind one bit. It was amusing to hear him explain his lyrics which span everything from the trade deficit with China to Jesse Jackson's run for the presidency in 1988.


Another reason I'm such a fan is their loose sound resembles the best groups from my college years. La Snacks' smart ass slacker vibe draws frequent comparisons to Archers of Loaf, Pavement, Superchunk, and other college radio darlings of the late '90s. Segovia's yowling vocal delivery wouldn't get him far on American Idol but it's a perfect fit for his wry and cynical lyrics.

La Snacks represents much of what I love about Austin. They both laid-back, smart, and fun-loving. If that sounds good to you, check out the band when they play Velvet Lounge this Saturday."

La Snacks - The Circle Argument (Mp3)
La Snacks - Meteorologist (Mp3)
La Snacks - Jackson 88 (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 2 | Magnetic Fields 'Realism'


As if you didn't load up on the vinyl enough yesterday, we're back this morning with Week 2 of our Record Store Day 2010 Vinyl Giveaways and this week it's the new one from Magnetic Fields, Realism.

Magnetic Fields' third Nonesuch disc, Realism, is the flipside to the industrial pop of Distortion, the quartet's brilliant 2008 homage to, of all things, the clangorous sound of the Jesus and Mary Chain. While Distortion was recorded quickly and noisily in the stairwells and rooms of the New York City apartment building to which singer-songwriter-bandleader Stephen Merritt was about to bid adieu for California, Realism was cut in the distortion-free environs of a Los Angeles studio, and its sound is as pristine as a plein-air painting.

There are no drum kits to be heard, and the fascinatingly varied instrumentation - guitars, accordions, violins, cellos, tablas, banjos, tuba, even a smattering of mellifluous falling leaves - did not need to be plugged in. And, as with Distortion, the album credits emphasize: No Synths.


The rules can't be any simpler: each Monday for the next nine 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 that week's 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 next Monday!

Now, have at it...