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.
Got something you think we should be listening to or reading? thevinyldistrict (at) gmail.com
Remember 'Hurricane' with Denzel Washington? Well, there was this whole concept of "sometimes the book finds you." I feel like the angel of fate placed its hands on some 45s and sent them my way. Sometimes you get the feeling, and although you may know nothing, and all you gotta do is reach down, pick it up, take it home and baby it's you. These all came from a junk/western wear store in Corydon, Indiana.
Arthur Lee - "Everybody's Gotta Live" | Love is one of my favorite bands, but I've never really gone beyond "Forever Changes." This is from an Arthur solo album "Vindicator" released in '72. Arthur's screams kill me every time I put this one on. Was he reading Janov at the time? Do you think Lennon was jealous?
Jive Five - "Rain" | I really dig songs about rain. I really dig falsetto and heavy call back harmonies. You can really nail this one in the shower. In the 80's Nickelodeon hired the re-formed Jive Five to do some jingle work. "Nic Nic Nic Na Nic Nic Nic.... Nickaaaalooddeeaaawn!"
The Castells - "Echoes" | Love songs. This one's a little on the lite side, but sometimes you do need something to play for the grandparents.
The Casuals - "Hello, Love" | Sounds a lot like the Everlys. And I'm okay with that.
The Sopwith Camel - "Postcard from Jamaica" | The Sopwith Camel, was originally a World War I fighter plane that shot down more enemy aircraft than any other British planes. The band was the first from the San Fran scene to have a top 40 hit. Unfortunately they didn't make it past 67. Surrealistic Pillow may have sold more, but at least the Camel didn't try to convince the world they were the ones who built the city on rock and roll.
Nilsson - "I'll Be Home" | Nilsson singing Newman. I put this on when I want people to shut up. But in a good way.
Jets Overhead frontwoman, Antonia Freybe-Smith counts us off in 3's:
"I feel like I can describe my love affair with vinyl in 3 parts...
Part 1: Young girl of 12 discovers her parents abandoned LP collection in the strange-smelling cupboard of the rarely-used den of her parents strange house. Nana Mouskouri. The Mammas and the Papas. Simon and Garfunkel. West Side Story soundtrack. etc. Young girl is intrigued and digs out her Mickey Mouse record player so she can listen to the LP's in the privacy of her own room. The Mickey Mouse player is small (meant for playing bright blue Disney 45's) so her parents giant black LP's hang over the edge but still play fine. The young girl finds this set-up funny and charming and listens to the records over and over, then forgets about it when she gets her first Sony Sport Walkman, the red one, for Christmas.
Part 2: Young woman of 18 is spending a lazy Sunday with her awesome roommates perusing all the Victoria garage sales while they should be back a their cozy old house studying away. They find a record player, 2 decent speakers and 3 large boxes of LP's sitting off in a corner at a sweet garage sale on Moss Street. They snatch up the whole kit n' caboodle, and are quite tickled by some of the many gems they find in the 3 boxes (Bruce Springsteen Live Boxset 1975-85!!!!!). They enjoy a hip phase of record playing at their cozy house...but unfortunately abandon the player and the LP collection to other roommates when they graduate and scatter off to the wind in search of adventure and purpose (as one tends to do after spending a shitload on a University degree and then feeling rather lost afterwards).
Part 3: Slightly older young woman of 29 is recording the overdubs for her band's new record in downtown Victoria at an old brick building recently vacated by a local radio station. A relaxed, unhurried employee of the station is clearing out the last of the radio gear as we start our overdubs in a small studio in the building. The unhurried employee encourages us to take whatever we want when we inquire after all the leftover stuff. The slightly older young woman and her handsome husband/bandmate, Adam, proceed to unscrew a record player from one of the old booths, and remove a bunch of the hanging speakers. It isn't until the end of the overdub sessions that the slightly older young girl and her cool-as-a-cucumber producer, Neil Osborne, discover a small, windowless roomed crammed with LP's. Floor to ceiling shelves full of vinyl, organized alphabetically and in perfect condition (except for Dj notes next to the song listings - ie. written in pen next to the song Hotel California: "single?"). The slightly older young woman and cool as a cucumber producer go crazy like two kids in a candy store and walk out each night of those last days of overdubs with their arms ladened with sweet records. Beach Boys. Sergio Mendes. Dire Straits. Shirley Horne. The Glenn Miller Orchestra. Sinatra. CSNY. Pink Floyd. Bob Marley. Bach. A Nat King Cole record that the slightly older young girl ends up listening to over and over and over as if she's in a trance. So the slightly older young girl and her handsome husband/bandmate fall back in love with vinyl. They start buying new records on vinyl. They have big grins on their faces when their band's own record is pressed on vinyl. Slightly older young girl presents her band's LP to her parents who congratulate her proudly and then proceed to place it carefully in a strange-smelling cupboard in the rarely-used den of their strange house." —Antonia Freybe-Smith
