TVD First Date | Black Telephone

Photo: Sara Kaplan

"When I moved in with my boyfriend, one of the things that I considered to be a very serious decision was what we should do with our record collections. Folklore seemed to say that merging the collections together too soon was a bad idea & that it would lead to eventual heartbreak if the relationship ended. But it also seemed really weird (and sad) to keep them separate. After some quick deliberation, I filed them all together alphabetically (mine sleeved, his without) in our living room.

I discovered something interesting during this process: there are only a few doubles in our combined collection of nearly 500 records. There are exactly six, all of them purchased while we were dating, but before we moved in.

What does this mean? Hidden in the 1% of our records where our buying habits intersect, is there some clue to the foundations of our relationship? Do these six records hold the key to increasing our happiness, solving quarrels or predicting the future? Or are they just popular records we both happen to own through blind chance? (Being a Gemini, Ian Svenonious would probably say that there is some sort of power to be found in doubles, and perhaps the number six or twelve might have some cosmic significance, but I'm a Libra & this isn't his blog post).


As I listened to these records, I began to think of the types of relationships they might represent. How would the couples embodied by these albums meet? Would they have kids & grow old together or flame out in a fit of passion? Here's what I imagined:

1. Elliott Smith – XO | Sensitive, corduroyed boy and sensitive, flannel-clad girl share coffee over long silences while it rains outside. Their love runs deep, but so does their emotional baggage. Regardless, I figure they have what it takes to make it through the long haul.

2. Peter Bjorn & John – Let’s Call It Off 7” | She says "Let's Call it Off!" He says "(I Just Want to) See-Through." The eternal push and pull of side A versus side B. Their friends just wonder how many times they can flip the record and play it again. Good thing the music is catchy.

3. The Points – S/T | Under a glittering rain of spit beer, love blossoms. When they break up, he cuts her head out of all their old pictures. Then they get back together. And break up again.

4. The Raveonettes – Lust, Lust, Lust | Kohl eyeliner and skinny jeans are virtually all that they share in common. Luckily, their relationship isn't based on conversation.

5. Vivian Girls – S/T | He knows what she knows, he feels what she feels. Unfortunately, all that is fleeting & it doesn't end well.

6. Title Tracks – Every Little Bit Hurts 7” | Love hurts. They meet at St. Stephens when she gets caught in the undertow of an impromptu mosh pit & he helps her up. Her mom gives him a ride home. They make plans to meet again at Comet Ping Pong on Friday night:"


Holly plays bass & sings in Black Telephone with her boyfriend, Tom and their friend Rory. Find them at their Official Website and Facebook and at Comet Ping Pong this Friday night (8/20) with The Paul Collins Beat, Title Tracks, and Mother's Children.

Black Telephone - What Am I Gonna Do (Mp3)
Black Telephone - Evelyn (Mp3)
Authorized for download!

TVD | Back in Black

One December a million years ago, 'Yesterday And Today' was a holiday gift along with Milton Bradley's Air Trix.

The Air Trix board game "is a skill game where players must move a styrofoam ball suspended on a column of air through various obstacles. The obstacles include running the ball through a ladder, into a bucket on the seal's nose, through the weather vane, landing on a helicopter, and picking up a mail bag."

Fun stuff right? More fun, my friend Spike and I thought, would be to replace the suspended in-air styrofoam ball with...well, ...spit. What can I say - we were creative kids.

Not surprisingly, the spit had varying results. It worked for a second there, then it'd come lobbing down into the hair dryer-like device that kept the styrofoam ball aloft. Shortly thereafter this device seemed to take on what I'll call - a smell.

Soon the game and the smell were relegated to the shelves, but what stayed handy however were the yellow sticks from the game on which the items would be suspended. They were about 13" long and the width of some light jazz drum sticks. And they became my first drum sticks.

Like a joke that takes painfully long to come to a conclusion, the marriage of Air Trix, spit, and The Beatles' 'Yesterday and Today' - specifically 'And Your Bird Can Sing,' ignited a life long love affair with all things: drum kit and blisters.

So, mom - thanks. Sorry about the Air Trix.


The Beatles - Nowhere Man (Mp3)
The Beatles - Yesterday (Mp3)
The Beatles - If I Needed Someone (Mp3)
The Beatles - We Can Work It Out (Mp3)
The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing (Mp3)

TVD Vinyl Giveaway | Paul Collins "King of Power Pop!"

Power pop legend Paul Collins plays Comet Ping Pong Friday night with DC's Title Tracks, Black Telephone, and Ottawa's Mother's Children (for which we have free tickets.)

Paul's touring behind his latest release, the aptly titled "King of Power Pop!" and we've got three copies of the LP that Paul notes is "...the record that connects the dots, from The Nerves to The Breakaways to The Beat to today—this is the record that puts it all together!"

Oh yea, it's a limited edition of just 500 on swirl-colored vinyl.

"King Of Power Pop! is the new studio album by Paul Collins, one of the originators of the power pop sound. Paul got his start in the late seventies as the drummer for the legendary Nerves (with Peter Case and Jack Lee) later forming The Breakaways with Peter Case, and finally starting The Beat, or Paul Collins Beat in 1979.

King Of Power Pop! is a complete return to his roots, to power pop, the sound he helped create and popularize, a sound that has seen a resurgence in recent years, a sound that is here to stay! Produced and engineered in Detroit by Jim Diamond (Dirtbombs, The Go, White Stripes, to name just a few), King Of Power Pop! also features Eric Blakely on guitar and backing vocals, Diamond on bass, and Dave Shettler on drums (SSM, The Sights). Motor City guests include Wally Palmar of the legendary power pop hit-makers the Romantics, as well as pop icon Nikki Corvette of Nikki & The Corvettes.

The catchy cover pop art is the work of legendary artist William Stout. The album includes 11 new songs, one new recording of the Breakaways classic "Many Roads To Follows" (the demo version featuring Peter Case can be found on the Breakaways release "Walking Out On Love"), and two covers, for a total of 13 great high-energy power pop songs."

As mentioned above, we've got three copies of the swirl-colored LP to put in the hands of three of you. Plead your case for one of them in the comments to this post and the ones with the memorable hooks and catchy choruses will be awarded the new LP.

We'll close this one next Wednesday (8/25) and as always, remember to leave us a contact email address!