TVD Summer Vinyl Giveaway | R.E.M "Fables Of The Reconstruction" 180g Reissue

Oh, man - I just got one of those icy spine shivvers.

(Want one too?)

R.E.M's "Fables Of The Reconstruction" ...is 25 years old.

TWENTY-FIVE. (And I bet more than a few of you aren't even that old, hm? Put that beer down.)



In celebration of time flying like you just can't believe, Capitol/ I.R.S. have released an expanded 25th Anniversary 2CD and digital edition of the R.E.M.’s classic 1985 album.

The new edition features the digitally remastered original album, plus 14 previously unreleased demo recordings, cut prior to the album’s studio sessions, including one long-sought track that has never been released. The commemorative release also adds insightful new liner notes by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, with the 2CD package presented in a lift-top box with a poster and four postcards.


This being The Vinyl District however, we've got a copy of the remastered original album on 180-gram vinyl to mail to one of you old codgers.

We'll keep it easy because, well, you've earned it after all these years. Simply sing the praises of the band, or the release, or some far flung memory from 'back in the day' in the comments to this post and the most compelling gets a brand new copy mailed to him or her around which new memories will be borne. Or forgotten. Who knows.

Remember to leave us a contact email address—important!—and we'll choose one of you nostalgia buffs next Monday, 8/9!

TVD Takeover | Jesca Hoop

"My stitching was born to fall apart," Jesca Hoop says upon some reflection on her personal journey—and damn if the best music isn't borne of such sentiment. (And sometimes a blog or two.)

That precarious muse has lead to the release of her sophomore LP, "Hunting My Dress" out just last week on Vanguard and already the UK press has their hearts set to swoon:

“In a voice that ranges from gentle, crystalline charm to edgy intensity, she’s in turn playful, bluesy, haunting, and folky. What prevents this all from becoming a mish-mash of textures is Hoop’s single minded passion, which lends a self assured cohesion to her diversity.” FOUR STARS —Uncut

“This is a swirling, swooning album with an earthy, minimalist sound powered mainly by her delightfully shape-shifting, slippery voice that rises and falls from wistful and elegant to rich and sultry.” —NME

Declarations of praise aside, Jesca's an unabashed vinyl fan and this week between promotional jaunts for the new record, she'll be setting aside some time to turn US on to what's turned HER on and what informs her myriad of musical perspectives.

So, sit back and relax—Jesca's your DJ for this week.

A favourite vinyl moment. | I'll never forget listening to Joni Mitchell's 'Song for a Seagull' on vinyl one a misty morning while sitting on the coverd porch in a rocking chair amidst the redwood trees.


The songs, the mist, the tea, the trees all became the same thing a total environment. We listened to the record like it was a movie. And again and again. That record (and on vinyl) signifies those days of a gorgeous simplicity... of unfettered youth... of freedom.

"Jesca Hoop's music is like a four sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or a red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night." — Tom Waits

TVD's Press Play

It's our weekly Music Monday recap of the tracks the folks in the press offices want you to be hearing. We post - you decide.

Alex Winston - Choice Notes (Mp3)
Central Services - What God Should Do (Mp3)
Howl - Heavenless (Mp3)
Insects Vs Robots - Sacred Moose (Mp3)
Mike Patton - Il Cielo In Una Stanza (Mp3)
Mountain Man - Soft Skin (Mp3)
School Of Seven Bells - Babelonia (Mp3)
Stripmall Architecture - Drunk Girls (SMA on LCD) (Mp3)
The Books - A Cold Freezin' Night (Mp3)
The Dead Weather - Die By The Drop (Mp3)
These New Puritans - Hologram (Salem Remix) (Mp3)
Yacht - Nausea (Mp3)
Young Man - Five (Mp3)
All authorized for download!