TVD | (Un)covered

I worry too much about the big picture. I get in the way of myself often, focusing on direction rather than the immediate. I worry that the immediate’s fleeting and direction’s deflection. I follow the numbers too closely. Where are they coming from? Where are you coming from? Why am I putting in all this time? Why is everyone so quiet? The downloads exceed bandwidth. I’m planned out weeks in advance. Sometimes it’s by the seat of the pants. Sometimes it lands in my lap and I just give ‘em away. I’m uploading. I’m downloading. Processing. Color correcting. Fact checking. Checking syntax. Saying what I mean but barely.

In the name of . . . . music.

I’d say that’s 'it' but after yesterday’s MJ spectacle, love him, hate him, or someplace in the center like me—it’s the one common denominator between us. Some say love, or life, even liberty—but that’s horseshit. The grace notes are binding.

And tearing me up quite often.

Gary Clark - This Is Why, J. (Mp3)
Gangway - The Loneliest Being (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Wasting My Time (Mp3)
The Clientele - Isn't Life Strange (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - One To One (Mp3)

TVD | (Un)covered

From the top, now:

We are not true / We are not pure / We are not right / O but still I'll steal to you at night / Too selfish by half / Too ugly by far / But when your songs have been sung, come to me / Rumours are rife / And winter blows cold / Reminds me of such wretched times / And yet all the same / I will never deign / To think ill of you / When all's well / My love is like cathedral bells / Amongst all the dross / The lies and the grief / There are so many things you just wouldn't believe / But amongst all the dross / The lies and the grief / When all's well / My love is like cathedral bells

Everything But The Girl - When All's Well (Mp3)
Blanket of Secrecy - Say You Will (Mp3)
China Crisis - Christian (Mp3)
Two People - Rescue Me (Mp3)
Tommy Keene - Places That Are Gone (Mp3)

TVD | (Un)covered

After the past two weeks or more of covering the covered here at TVD, I’m thinking one could literally fashion an entire blog around cover songs.

Who knew? There’s a zillion of them. Some good, some bad—undoubtedly the worst offender being the pop/punk cover of something tried and true. (Hello Mr. Dando.)

More rare it seems are the stellar songs that have gone uncovered—ditties of distinction untainted by the cover treatment afforded lesser compositions. So, this week we’ll shine a light on a handful of tunes you burgeoning bands and songwriters could take a cue from. Because we WANT you to succeed.

TVD: building careers in music, one coffee house at a time.


Split Enz - Message To My Girl (Mp3)
Prefab Sprout - Bonny (Mp3)
Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters (Mp3)
The Sound - Silent Air (Mp3)
Danny Wilson - I Won't Be Here When You Get Home (Mp3)

It's a TVD Vinyl Giveaway! | Girl In A Coma "trio b.c." (...and it's autographed!)

After a full eleven weeks of vinyl giveaways leading up to Record Store Day 2009 earlier in the year, it turns out that it’s now been quite a while since we slipped an LP into an envelope and shipped it off to one effusive and over-the-top commenter/contest winner. But our friends at Blackheart Records have come to your rescue.

We’ve got our hands on the brand new Girl In A Coma LP, "trio b.c." (which has been on mega-heavy rotation here at ol’ TVD HQ) to give away to an aforementioned over-the-top commenter. And, I should add the cover’s been signed by the full band in black(heart) Sharpie. Because they—and we—are looking out for your cool collector’s items. (See that Ash giveaway last week?!)

We’ll give you a full week on this one to plead your case in the comments section for the LP (with some sort of contact info please!) We’ll choose a winner on 7/7, so get to it!

It's a TVD Ticket Giveaway! | Those Darlins, Tuesday (7/7) at Iota

While we've been fans of Those Darlins for a little while now, it's nice to see the rest of you guys catching up.

But not to let some press buzz be the only thing out there, the Darlins have hit the road this summer AND hit our area once more with a show this Tuesday night (7/7) at Iota. And right you are—we've got a pair of tickets to put in your hands.

Typically, we ask you to rant and rave in the comments to win the tix and actually this time it's no different. But we'd like to award the pair to the cleverest commenter who has a suggestion OTHER than this method to win the crazy prizes and stuff we're giving away each and every week now.

So, get out the pens and paper kids, the sliding rules, the protractors and what ever else you got to see Those Darlins this Tuesday. Help us out and we'll help you out. Remember to leave us some contact info too! We'll choose our winner on Tuesday morning.


Those Darlins - Red Light Love (Mp3)
Those Darlins - Wild One (Mp3)

TVD's Parting Shots

We're closing up shop a little early this week in advance of the long weekend—but not without first turning the 'Parting Shots' over to our friend Virginia who's conjured up quite the appropriate theme for the Fourth of July holiday and the summer season:

"June 20 was International Surfing Day, if you didn’t know, and in honor of that fine holiday and of course the 4th of July, we are going to listen to some Surf music, the soundtrack for summer at the beach. So, grab your board, let’s catch some tasty tunes.

The original Surf music was from Southern California -- Orange County before it was The OC, in fact -- in the late 50s and early 60s. The undisputed King of Surf Music is Dick Dale, a surfer and musician who started playing in the late 50s at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach, where he defined the Surf sound: straight up 4/4, instrumental rock & roll, with the melody, usually in a minor key, flat-picked on lead guitar with generous doses of pitch bending and reverb, courtesy of the Fender Stratocaster, which had been in production only a few years then, a little sliding up and down the neck, mimicking popular steel-guitar Hawaiian music, on top of a Fender Precision bass, another radical new instrument at the time, rhythm guitar, and lots of back beat. With trumpet, sax or keyboards occasionally thrown in for sonic color, Surf music was an attempt to push the new electronic instrumentation to evoke crashing waves, the adrenalin of surfing, and the totally bitchen surfing life.

Dick's first single, with his back-up band the Del-tones, was Let's Go Trippin' in 1961, but probably his best known recording these days is Miserlou, a Greek folk tune that Dick recast as a Surf anthem in 1962 and that Quentin Tarantino featured in 1994's Pulp Fiction.. Let's Go Trippin' spotlights a nice slide and lots of reverb and is generally considered the first recorded Surf tune, but Miserlou shows off Dick's manic staccato picking and the wild energy of Surf at its best.

The Chantays were also from Orange County, California. Formed in 1962 by five high-school friends, guitarists Brian Carman and Bob Spickard wrote and the band recorded Pipeline, another Surf great that became a number one single. Pipeline is a surf reef break located on O'ahu's North Shore; Pipeline evokes waves breaking over a nice driving bass line and is a classic of Surf sound.

Further North in LA, the Surfaris, formed in 1962, recorded Wipe Out in 1963, which ran up to number two in the charts. Opening with the sound of a surf board breaking followed by maniacal laughter and continuing with some pretty high energy drumming and a straightforward lead, Wipe Out is one of the best of the genre.

And no discussion of Surf music would be complete without the Ventures. From way up the west coast in Tacoma, Washington, the group was formed in 1958 by two construction workers who found common interest in playing guitar. Don Wilson and Bob Bogle starting playing local clubs, eventually adding Nokie Edwards as lead guitarist, and Skip Moore on drums. Their first record, Walk Don't Run, had a tough start but eventually climbed to number 2 on the charts, becoming a national hit in 1960. While The Ventures did not consider themselves strictly a Surf band and Walk Don't Run predates Let's Go Trippin', the melodic electric guitar leads, classic rock formation and high energy epitomize the Surf sound.

While Surf music was pretty much eclipsed by the British Invasion in 1964, it's impossible to overestimate the influence it had on rock & roll worldwide, particularly the musicianship of Dick Dale and Nokie Edwards. An unknowable number of young people learned to play guitar copying them or playing along with "Play Guitar with the Ventures", a series of instructional albums so popular they showed up on the Billboard top 100. Dick Dale additionally worked with Leo Fender from the late 50s through the 60s to push Fender guitar and amplifier technology into greater volume and distortion ranges, which had a tremendous impact on later heavy metal music.

Some of the original Surf musicians still perform. The Ventures, in fact, have never really stopped performing or making records -- they have been extremely popular in Japan since the 70s. Sadly, Bob Bogle passed away June 14 this year. Dick Dale still plays, as do The Chantays, and The Surfaris.

Lots has been left out here: the many other bands who contributed to the instrumental style and added more great tunes of their own -- the Bel-Airs and the Lively Ones, for example, the great Surf pop vocal music of the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, and the funny Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen and Papa-oom-mow-mow by the Rivingtons. I hope this small introduction of the style, though, is encouragement enough to follow the links here and discover the great canon of Surf music."

Dick Dale and the Del-tones - Let's Go Trippin (Mp3)
Dick Dale and the Del-tones - Miserlou (Mp3)
The Chantays - Pipeline (Mp3)
The Surfaris - Wipeout (Mp3)
The Ventures - Walk Don't Run (Mp3)
The Ventures - Perfidia (Mp3)
The Lively Ones - Surf Rider (Mp3)

TVD First Date with | Living Things

Some people just seem genetically predisposed to music making I often think. Be it the cheek bones or some other piece of physicality, some stuff’s just preordained.

Such is the case with St. Louis’ Living Things who swept through DC last week and played a storming set over at The Rock and Roll Hotel. TVD chatted with Lillian Berlin, the band’s lead vocalist and it seems that he TOO has a predisposition—for vinyl:

"When I search for vinyl I usually end up in a Salvation Army. Albums with titles like Sammy Davis Jr. Sings Jewish Folk Songs, you can only find these classics at your local Army. If I am going for something more mainstream I opt to log on to eBay or hit Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis where I am from, or Grimes in Nashville and Amoeba in the City of Angels. In the end I never get to hear my vinyl collection much, because I am either on the road, on a plane or in the studio with my brothers. Which is when the evil iPod goes into effect..... When I am at home I seem to not want to jam out to the record player cause music is making my ears bleed all day...”

Living Things - Mercedes Marxist (Mp3)
Living Things - Oxygen (Mp3)

TVD First Date with | Amy Speace

I’ve come to realize I bitch about the quality of contemporary songwriting in this space quite often. Perhaps it’s the ABSENCE of songwriting that drives me nuts and the layer upon layer of effects and artificial beats and processing that smothers even the kernel of something hummable. Or memorable.

A few weeks back I was sent Amy Speace’s track, ‘The Killer In Me’ which is the title track of her new Mitch Easter produced LP. ‘The Killer In Me’ actually features Ian Hunter on vocals as well, which is a refreshing note unto itself.

What begins at note #1 and carries on through to the outro however, is the palpable push/pull of raw emotion, story-telling, and spilling one’s guts right on the table top and handing the listener a fork. And you can sing along.

“The killer in me / loves the killer I see in you...”

Amy’s not only made the track available here at TVD, but has a few fond, vinyl thoughts into the bargain:

"I remember the 78s my grandmother had, heavy vinyl records in cinnamon colored sleeves. Old classical records. Mario Lanza, Rosa Ponselle. The Andrews Sisters. Rachmaninov.  My father’s vinyl collection was proudly displayed in our living room. My Dad grew up very poor in a 1 room farmhouse in Elkton, Maryland, with 4 siblings and no electricity.  Certain things he was able to buy for himself reminded him of how far he’d come: his first bike (a Schwinn) and his first RCA Stereo. He still has both, although he upgraded to a Bose stereo system a few years ago.  I remember sitting on the floor with his record collection, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Waylon and Merle and Willie, Ernest Tubb, Elvis, The Ray Coniff Singers, Neil Diamond. He’d play them at night and we’d all sing along.  He had this collection of records from the 60 that taught different dances. The Twist! The Pretzel! The artwork was great: stark white with people dancing on a Twister game in rainbow colors, or they were dark red with a beautiful woman dressed in a white dress and gloves. He also had this great collection of comedy records. My favorite was one called The First Family with a fake Kennedy clan on front by Vaughn Meader.

The first record I was given was probably the soundtrack to Disney’s Cinderella (Bibbity Bobbity Boo). The first record I bought for myself with saved up allowance was Billy Joel’s The Stranger.  I totally remember that day and I still have that record. But my favorite record was The Stones’Sticky Fingers, which I borrowed from my friend’s older brother (and never gave back) when I was about 14 and snuck in the house. It still had the zipper.  I was pretty interested in that cover.

My sister and I used to share a room and we’d put on records and sing along, or make up dances. The physical act of picking up the needle, that little screech you’d get, or the hissing, or when you’d fall asleep to a record and you’d be awoken by the needle at the end, its just not the same with a CD or a tape. The way you could hold a record like it was something you possessed, in an embrace. With our allowance on Sunday, we’d go buy records on Monday, and you’d hug the package to your chest like a lover. I was obsessed with listening. In junior high and high school I was living in a small town and just didn’t feel like I fit in, so I’d run home after school and come home to my own record player and lock my door and sit in my room with headphones and spend hours with my records. Mostly crap from the 80s, to be completely honest, but I also had a lot of classics, like The Doors, The Moody Blues, Janis Joplin. I had a good collection of classical and opera too. I listened to “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well…” over and over."

Amy Speace - The Killer In Me (Mp3)

It's a TVD 24-Hour (...give or take) Ticket Giveaway! | Middle Distance Runner, Thursday (7/2) at The State Theatre

Has anyone noticed the subtext that's swept into TVD as of late? I mean, sure—we dig vinyl but we also need to get out of the house, right? And if you're playing along at home, our plan is to be at The State Theatre Thursday night for one of DC's finest, Middle Distance Runner.

That's all well and good, you're saying, But you wanna come too. Hear ya. Loud and clear. So, until we come up with a different way to win these things, there's a pair of tickets with your name on 'em if you're the one singing loudest in the comments.

That's it. That simple. (And while you're at it, download the current single below.)

We're choosing the winner the morning of the show, so make it good and make it fast...

Middle Distance Runner - The Unbeliever (Mp3)

Middle Distance Runner "The Unbeliever" from maxwell sorensen on Vimeo.

TVD | Covered

...still squeezing out the (cover) sparks. Think of them as tiny fireworks.

Joe Jackson - Summer In The City (Lovin' Spoonful cover) (Mp3)
Gary Clark - Learning To Do Without Me (George Jones cover) (Mp3)
Portastatic - When Love Breaks Down (Prefab Sprout cover) (Mp3)
Manic Street Preachers - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (B.J. Thomas cover) (Mp3)
Neil Finn - Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover) (Mp3)

TVD & MJ | Remember The Time

(Ed. note: Since having thwacked us into covers mode with her Friday Parting Shots guest post, Lemmonex returns with some thoughts on the passing of MJ...)

I have a memory that I am not entirely sure is accurate. It's one of those childhood blurs that I may have incorporated as a result of constant retelling, not of actual recollection. I choose to believe this mental snapshot is mine and not some sort of fabrication pieced together over the years.

I was a little girl, about four-years-old. My mom had driven my younger brother and me to Syracuse to visit my Aunt Carol. It is the first time I remember meeting my cousin Sara...she was perhaps a year old. My aunt put on the "Thriller" album and I danced wildly in her apartment. It is a somewhat muddled memory, but I remember flinging myself gleefully on her water bed and my mother and aunt laughing as I practically bounced off the walls. I was a pretty wound up child so didn't need much encouragement, but if Michael Jackson doesn't force you to dance...well, you may be dead.

This is one of my earliest memories, a moving Polaroid that always brings a smile to my face. In the past several days, I've read countless blog posts peppered with similar tales. Such a cultural force was MJ that these stories cannot be avoided. Everyone wants to share their remembrances of a man who no doubt was devastatingly talented and a true visionary.

What I cannot help but reflect on is while so many of us were touched by his words and music, there were countless people impacted by the man's eccentricities and his certainly odd curiosity with young boys. While we have been constantly reminded in the days since his death to focus on the man's talent and promise, and not the pathos which enveloped him, I can't help it. Though it was never proven he touched those children, at the very least he had a highly inappropriate relationship with them. His own children were held veritable prisoners in their own homes and forced to wear masks in public, robbed of any sort of normalcy. He leaves behind crippling debt and a somewhat unsure future for his sons and daughter.

It seems some people are so concerned about defiling the crown of the king they turn a blind eye to his sins. I have a hard time separating the music from the monster, the talent from the tormentor. I danced to his songs this past weekend, blaring "Dancing Machine" and "Dirty Diana", enjoying the simple pleasure they brought me, smiling as I thought of a little girl in pigtails jumping on furniture. I just can't help but feel a bit conflicted about celebrating the man, no matter how much I want to, knowing what he has done to the childhood of others. These simple stories are ones these kids will never have the joy of recounting.

TVD | Covered

The beauty of having added new contributors here at TVD is certainly a diversity of voices that didn’t exist prior—and if it isn’t obvious already—the diversity of music offered over here.

But alas, as we run our covers week(s) into the ground, you’ve got me back to inspire the sweet same old, same old. (Chin up, kids.)

Guns 'n Roses - Mama Kin (Aerosmith cover) (Mp3)
Japan - Ain't That Peculiar (Smoky Robinson cover) (Mp3)
KISS - Then She Kissed Me (The Crystals cover) (Mp3)
Placebo - Johnny and Mary (Robert Palmer cover) (Mp3)
Peter Murphy - Final Solution (Club Mix) (Pere Ubu cover).mp3 (Mp3)

TVD | Covered

I went home to the small town where I grew up listening to my grandpa's country records this past weekend, so I thought it appropriate that TVD covers week (which continues after last week's break due to the MJ news) should include 5 old time country covers. Some performances better than the originals, some worse, but all 5 songs are immaculate.


Willie Nelson - Always on My Mind (Brenda Lee cover)
Johnny Cash - I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams cover)
Ray Charles - I Can't Stop Loving You (Don Gibson cover)
Patterson Hood - Pay No Attention to Alice (Tom T. Hall cover)
Norah Jones - Be Here to Love Me (Townes van Zandt cover)

TVD Remembers | Michael Jackson

"...All the beauty gets taken for granted / All the pain gets put in the way..."

Jackson Five - I Want You Back (Mp3)
Jackson Five - ABC (Mp3)
Jackson Five - Dancing Machine (Mp3)
Jackson Five - Goin Back to Indiana (Mp3)
Jackson Five - It's Too Late to Change the Time (Mp3)
Jackson Five - Who's Loving You (Mp3)
Michael Jackson - Ben (Mp3)
Michael Jackson - I Wanna Rock With You (Mp3)
Michael Jackson - Beat It (Mp3)
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin Somethin (Mp3)
Michael Jackson - Thriller (Mp3)

TVD Class of ’72 | “Smokin’ O.P.’s” by Bob Seger

(Ed's note: As we mentioned earlier in the week, our pal Jeff from AM, then FM will be joining us several times a month with a dip in the box of LP's from the 70's. Today is his first installment, and given our covers themed week, it's quite timely indeed.)

If you know Bob Seger only from “Night Moves” and the Silver Bullet Band in the late ‘70s, you really ought to get to know the other Bob Seger.

He’s a pretty cool guy. Those of us who grew up in the Midwest have known that guy since the early ‘70s, maybe even the late ‘60s. That’s when we started digging his stuff, which was – and is -- passionate, gritty, hard-rocking and energetic.

“Smokin’ O.P.’s,” released in August 1972, is an album made up mostly of covers. It’s sort of a bridge between the earliest tunes by Bob Seger and the Last Heard and then the Bob Seger System -- tunes that were big mostly only around Detroit -- and some early ’70s solo albums that were big mostly only in the Midwest.

On this one, Seger is standing smack at the intersection of Rock, Soul and Blues. You’ll also dig his formidable backing band. In particular, Mike Bruce on guitar, Skip Knope on Hammond organ and Pam Todd and Crystal Jenkins on lead and backup vocals.

Bob Seger - Bo Diddley/Who Do You Love (Bo Diddley cover) (Mp3)
Bob Seger - Love The One You’re With (Stephen Stills cover) (Mp3)
Bob Seger - Turn On Your Love Light (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover) (Mp3)

All from “Smokin’ O.P.’s,” Bob Seger, 1972.

It's a TVD Ticket Giveaway | Wild Fictions, Saturday, 6/27 at The Velvet Lounge

It’s just seems like we have tickets for show after show now, doesn’t it? Well, it should—and we’ve got not just a pair of tickets, but a t-shirt and the most recent EP from local brother/sister, drum/keyboard duo Wild Fictions. Kelly and Chris are joined by Loderunner and Ribbons this Saturday night at Velvet Lounge for what’s shaping up to be a fine night of music all around.

The drill: the comments box. You: leave a comment within pleading your case (with contact info!) for the grab bag of gifts. TVD: chooses one winner come Friday. You: rock out on Saturday. TVD: you’re welcome.

Wild Fictions - Secret Society (Mp3)
Wild Fictions - 1943 (Mp3)

It's an TVD/Ash, Handmade, Autographed CD Giveaway! (CD...?!)

I’ve always argued when it comes to CDs that they’re impersonal and physically just 25% of the artistic aesthetic I’ve long appreciated with vinyl records. But your bleary eyes aren’t confusing you this morning—TVD’s got a CD giveaway.

For the past year Ash have been holed up in their New York HQ, Atomic Heart Studios, writing and recording a series of songs that will form what the band is calling the A-Z series. Starting in October, every two weeks for the next twelve months, Ash will release one single on limited 7” vinyl and digital download...Starting with ‘A’ and ending at 'Z', all 26 songs will be released on Ash’s own Atomic Heart Records and will be available through shops and by subscription through the band’s website.

Ash kick of this series with a bonus track (not one of the forthcoming 26 songs)—the Mark Hamilton penned song "Return of White Rabbit."

TVD’s got our mitts on a set of limited edition promo CDs for "Return of White Rabbit" which have been handmade and signed personally by members of the band; Rick’s pack of playing cards, Tim’s apocalyptic bunny rabbits and Mark’s day-glo stencils. So, yes—they’re CDs, but they can’t get any MORE unique than this set.

The drill is the same: grab our attention in the comments (with contact info!) and the entire set of three CD’s will land on your doorstep no matter where you’re reading us. We’ll choose our winner next Friday (6/26) for the set.

Download the track "Return of White Rabbit" free at Ash's official site.

TVD First Date with | Fanfarlo

It’s a cool gimmick to give your new record away for a dollar. Better still when that release is simply STELLAR. (Note: caps.)

Fanfarlo's 'Reservoir' is on heavy rotation this week here at TVD HQ and as such, we tracked down the band’s drummer Amos for a chat:

"I came to record buying late on, mainly through being content watching my mix-video tapes of bands performing on long lost British TV shows such as Snub TV, Club X, Night Network, Rapido and an imported Canadian show called The New Music which warranted setting the video player's timer for a ridiculous time in the morning.

Somewhere along the line, under the guidance of John Peel's ears, who was my other source of new music, I purchased my first 7" from the Our Price record shop on Wembley High Road. Released in the summer 1991, whilst I was still at school, Heavenly's "So Little Deserve" on Sarah Records would be the start of my record collection, and two years later, my graduation to live music, sending me across London to watch a slew of experimental (Rollerskate Skinny), instrumental (C.B. Beaumont), surf-punk (The Mummies) or Riotgrrl-affiliated groups (Lois, Heavenly and Delicate Vomit is one gig that sticks in my mind as inspiring).

By the time I'd reached art college, I was attending more gigs than galleries, as I had to explain to my tutor. This was after he'd requested I compile a tape of Dick Dale for him, who was now in vogue due to the inclusion of "Miserlou" in the opening credits of Pulp Fiction. When I moved into my new space at college and tacked some striking 50's B-movie posters above my desk which I'd found discarded in my locker, Jamie, a kid from the year above me threateningly asked, "Why have you put my posters up?" Realising that we shared the same pop-culture aesthetics, we bonded over a love of Pavement and Dischord records, whilst his girlfriend, who was my classmate, was a fan of The Sea Urchins - Sarah Records's first ever release.

After college, another defining moment was the Bowlie Weekender in 1999, a one-off festival which was the brainwave of Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch. The venue was a holiday camp in Camber, on the South-East coast of England. I was having a bad day at the office when a friend phoned up and persuaded me to re-think my decision of not wanting to go. He was right. Under one roof you could witness Godspeed You Black Emperor!, The Pastels, Sleater-Kinney, The Flaming Lips and the headliners Belle and Sebastian amongst others. Labels brought their back catalogue to sell on makeshift stalls, and bands welcomed newly made friends into their chalets. Such was the influence of the event, that club nights, festivals, indie labels and bands formed mere months later. At Bowlie, I was reunited with Jamie and by the end of the year, we had a band that, before we'd even played live, had released a 7" of our own.

I had seen Fanfarlo play as a duo in the winter of 2005 and immediately fell under their spell. I bought their first 7" on the same day I decided to join the band, and within two months we were performing those songs and others that would be released on a variety of London based labels (all on vinyl too). Our album "Reservoir" will be pressed onto vinyl for the first time this year, which is a format that excites us - from the enlarged cover art and design to the new dynamic of having a pause after track five, which is when you'll have to flip to Side B."

Fanfarlo - Luna (Mp3)

TVD | Covered

TVD covers week marches on. A few weeks ago I introduced myself to this blog as a child of the 80s. Today's post showcases covers of some great 80s songs. You remain free to post your favorite covers in the comments!

Paul Westerberg - Postcards From Paradise (Flesh for Lulu cover)
Matthew Ryan - Somebody Got Murdered (Clash cover)
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Orion (Metallica cover)
David Gray - Say Hello Wave Goodbye (Soft Cell cover)
Ben Harper - Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover)

It's a TVD 36-Hour Ticket Giveaway! | Wheat at DC9, Thursday, 6/25

I’d tell you how much I listened to “Don’t I Hold You” over and over again a while back but that’d defeat the purpose in announcing that Wheat is back with a new record “White Ink/Black Ink” and in advance of its July 21st release, the boys play DC9 this Thursday night AND as the title to the post says: we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away!

As is the rule oh so often here, the most effervescent commenter to this post (who leaves contact info – important!) gets the pair of tickets and a dose of good karma for playing along. Make ‘em good – we’re pulling the winner Thursday morning.

Wheat - El Sincero (Mp3)