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I often find myself standing in crowded, dark, feverish clubs--pint in one hand, smudged stamp on the other--looking around. Perhaps just like you. Talking, listening to tongues wagging, wagging, and the current bullshit on the beatbox. I've made a career of it for years. You might have as well.
Yet, through the din, when was the last time someone said something to ya...y'know...somewhat enlightened? I know it wasn't me. I mean, I've got a pint to finish.
But how sweet that'd be. A few words strung together with insight and eloquence. Infused with heady danger and tangible truths. I look for this in music all the time. Better when you can sing along to the truths, right?
Yet, I'm in that dark room and for the ten millionth time tapping my toe to the oldies. "I'm in love with the rock and roll world/"I'm in love with the rock and roll world..."
The Beats had it I think. I imagine their conversations were these inspired, wordy, twisty bass lines of hep-dum. Hip-hop dumb. Centered and forceful and mesmerizing. Slick backed hair and rolled up sleeves. Cigs. Tons of cigs. And bourbon.
But as the song goes, born too late. I sorta don't know REALLY. What WAS I missing? What do I need to know now? Are the truths then the truths now? Is mercurial insight timeless and if so gotta get me some.
Hence, TVD's Libertine Circle (Allen Ginsberg's name for the brand of original Beat poets) and a few more days of talky vinyl, man.
After this week, in crowded, dark, feverish clubs--pint in one hand, smudged stamp on the other--you better come at me and bring it.
Inspired, you'll be.
(Pictured: Peter Orlovsky, Jack Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs in a photo by Allen Ginsberg)
One of the greatest things about being a walking time bomb is that your life is always interesting! With the potential for death and destruction around every corner! In other words, I apologize for my brief hiatus (to all three of you who noticed) but as you know, some times bad things happen to not-so-bad people, bad music for bad people (R.I.P. Lux Interior) happens, and that's why Love You 'Till Friday is back a week early on a special Monday morning!
As you show-goers know, March is a bittersweet month. SXSW is a few weeks away, which means every band and their sister's and mother's bands will be touring to get to Austin, and inevitably stop at some point in the middle of the week for a DC show... in between NYC and Atlanta or Memphis or any other city we don't care about because it ain't here. But this also means your weeknights will be filled with excitement as you get to catch some great bands on tour before they go whore themselves out down south. The story goes like this... your band plays a showcase to a bunch of suits (Hello John Norris) who are supposed to drool and publically snub each other in a mad dash to cash in on what the kids are listening to, the NEXT BIG HYPE... but does anyone really care about that? It's really a trip to go party your asses off, and play as many shows and parties all week long, see new bands and eat good BBQ in the nice weather.
So... The point of the previous paragraph was to inform you, in subsequent installments of LYTF, a few good shows to check out that do not involve your television.
Right now I think it's pretty important to go to this show at the Black Cat this Thursday. The Black Lips have been one of my favorite bands for years, and they've definitely payed their dues, earned all this cred so fuck all the haters. There's probably a new album involved (edit: It's called It's called 200 Million Thousand, but I'm still stoked on 2007's Good Bad Not Evil and everything before it....
Oh, apparently the new album dropped today, but I didn't see it while I was out record shopping at the usual DC spots. So I guess you're going to have to go out here to get one... And look, Gentlemen Jesse is playing too! If you missed them a few weeks ago at the Talking Head, here's your next last chance.
If there's one band that's been THE biggest supporter of Record Store Day from the proverbial get-go, it's Metallica. As such, we're psyched to be offering this lil slice of Metal Mayhem as TVD's Eleven Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaway, Week 5! It's the very first Metallica LP "Kill 'Em All" (Or, "Kill all posers!") and the most recent Metallica record "Death Magnetic" wrapped in what's probably my favorite cover graphic from last year.
So, wanna wrap your hands around these records? Grab our attention in the comments WITH your email address (important!) so we can contact you about your triumphant win. (Or, you can comment and forward your email address in an email to us. We're not picky.) And remember - each entry into our vinyl contest is an automatic entry to win the Stanton T.90 USB turntable on Record Store Day 2009!
Just make it funny. Or make it smart. About record stores. Or Record Store Day. Or vinyl. About us or you. Or something else all together. Just make it before next Monday (3/2) when we'll choose our winner. (AND launch giveaway #6...)
It's no secret that the way to this girl's heart is through her ear canals. If you know anything about me, however, you know that the music I enjoy the *most* is not about sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. Or love. Or California girls. Or about drinking in a club. Or about times gone by. The music I enjoy the most is that which discusses the world around us. I want a song which points out the wrongdoings, the awfulness in this world and then tells you to do something, anything, about it. Add to that an unfamiliar yet entirely badass beat and a language I can't understand, and you'll have a combination resulting in my undying love and affection.
I love a myriad of bands whose lyrics are entrenched in activism and rebelliousness. Perhaps it's the fact that I was at a Rebellious Lawyering conference this weekend. Or that I saw Che on Monday night. Or that I'm feeling entirely too restless as of late. Whatever it may be, while searching for music to get me in a productive mood yesterday, I turned to El Gafla. The best description of the band's music comes from its very own webpage, where it states that their sounds "unite the shores of the Mediterranean by skilfully mixing châabi, gypsy jazz and French song, with African and Eastern groove sonorities." This is pretty much my musical dream team.
Their name means "The Caravan" in Arabic, which probably explains why the restless wanderer in me first felt such a connection to the group. The music has a tendency to make me more restless, even. I don't mean in the physical sense (well, at least not completely) but every one of their songs feels like a call to order--to refrain from becoming mentally lazy. To enjoy life while taking responsibility for yours and your neighbors.
Then again, I don't understand the lyrics--maybe you'll feel differently?
"You know, a lot of people come to me and they say, 'Steve, how can you be so fucking funny?' There's a secret to it, it's no big deal. Before I go out, I put a slice of bologna in each of my shoes. So when I'm on stage, I FEEL funny."
Rare it is indeed when the TVD readership writes to us here directly to say they've enjoyed a posted feature or theme--but it seems we hit upon something with our recent 'Laugh Tracks' series if the response at TVD HQ is to be any indication. So, we're digging into our bag of wax once more this week to breathe life into the cubicle (or office) with a dose of classic levity. And they don't come more classic or uh, levitated:
"Producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz have claimed credit for coining the term "bubblegum music", saying that when they discussed their target audience, they decided it was "teenagers, the young kids. And at the time we used to be chewing bubblegum and my partner and I used to look at it and laugh and say, 'Ah, this is like bubblegum music'." The term was seized upon by Buddah Records label executive Neil Bogart. Music writer and bubblegum historian Bill Pitzonka confirmed the claim, telling Goldmine magazine: "That's when bubblegum crystallized into an actual camp. Kasenetz and Katz really crystallized it when they came up with the term themselves and that nice little analogy. And Neil Bogart, being the marketing person he was, just crammed it down the throats of people. That's really the point at which bubblegum took off.""
The Vinyl Giveaway Madness continues for another week here at TVD with two Dan Auerbach related releases -- The Black Keys "Attack & Release" and Dan's new solo LP, "Keep It Hid."
And if that's not enough to get you opining in the comments, our good friends at Crooked Beat Records have a pair of tickets to give away to see Dan Auerbach at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, February 28th! Get down to the store, tell 'em The Vinyl District sent ya, and enter your name into the giveaway. A winner for the tickets will be drawn in-store on 2/26 for Dan's show at the 9:30 on 2/28.
Meanwhile, the process is the same to get your hands on the vinyl: grab our attention in the comments WITH your email address (important!) so we can contact you about your triumphant win. (Or, you can comment and forward your email address in an email to us. We're not picky.) And remember - each entry into our vinyl contest is an automatic entry to win the Stanton T.90 USB turntable on Record Store Day 2009!
Just make it funny. Or make it smart. About record stores. Or Record Store Day. Or vinyl. About us or you. Or something else all together. Just make it before next Monday (2/23) when we'll choose our winner. (AND launch giveaway #5...)
My friend DJ Busca is a bike courier by day and a spinner of records by night. Those two things, coupled with the fact that he's dating a dear dear friend of mine, make him awesome. I asked him to share with TVD readers what makes vinyl so special to him, and he replied that it's all about the 45s:
"Few other man-made objects package Joy quite like the 45 rpm record. Lightweight, portable, and crucially free of moving parts, the 45 delivers a universe of sound in just 6 7/8 inches of pressed vinyl. The labels are the icing on the cake; even the boring ones manage to satisfy a basic sense of aesthetics. Many genres of music have been released on 45 but reggae and funk are responsible for many of the format's classics. I would add salsa to the list to complete my own personal trilogy, although those specimens are considerably rarer.
Many, many tunes have been cut on the Stalag riddim but few I've heard strip it down as raw as General Echo's "Arleen." The drum and bass hit the listener right where it counts. Say what you will about the sax-lead subgenre of funk but the drum break at the beginning of Monk Higgin's "Gotta Be Funky" is pretty damn, well, funky. Although the body of their work is just as much rock as funk, on "The Message" Cymande demonstrates their singular touch, warm vibes and relentless grooviness. There's nothing like a rough and ready 70s salsa cut and "El Yerbero Del Barrio" by Robert y Su Nuevo Montuno is a great example. The lyrics probably mean exactly what they say but I'd like to think there's a double meaning there."
You can catch DJ Busca TONIGHT at the Reef's Lush Lounge in Adam's Morgan. I know I'll be there enjoying their excellent beer selection and trying to shake this week off while listening to the funky yet comforting sounds of DJ Busca. If you can't wait till then, he's giving you a taste via the songs he's described above to get you through your Thursday.
One gloriously sunny and warm June Saturday morning, I took my bike out of the garage and peddled over to my school at the time, Shark River Hills Elementary, where there was a little flea market of sorts being held. With a few coins in my pocket, I purchased two coverless Partridge Family comic books, rode down Elizabeth Terrace to my home, and read both under the shade of a tree on my front lawn.
Around me bees swirled. Lawns were being mowed. Flowers planted. Cars washed. Dogs walked. Mothers made lunches. Fathers tinkered in garages. And I confess without any hint of irony--I never felt more at peace.
Fresh off the road supporting The Who, you'd think that Winnipeg's Inward Eye, who cite influences as varied as The Kinks, The Jam, Smokey Robinson, and Holland-Dozier-Holland, might have a thing or two to say regarding vinyl records. And you'd be right.
We caught up with the trio's bassist and vocalist Dave Erickson, with a flashback or five:
"My earliest memory of vinyl records was the smell. Opening my dad's wooden drawer filled with old relics, I remember this earthy organic smell filling the air, much like the sound. Flipping through the strange looking artwork wondering what they all sounded like is how I first fell in love with music.
I remember hearing vinyl for the first time and loving the warmth of the bass and how everything seemed to meld into one big sound, like it was pulsing together, with a real heart and soul. You really can't achieve that with a CD or iPod. Some may say that a CD has a "truer" sound because it has a greater bandwidth, but there is something about putting on an old record that seems to suspends reality for moment without the sterile pro-tooled sound."
(...I'd like to see the faces of those of you who're visiting TVD for the first time right about now.)
That's correct--your eyes aren't playing tricks on you--it's an Osmond Brothers record cover! We're doing an experiment to see if Top 40 radio from the classic Tiger Beat era was worth it's salt! ...And we don't know why...!
Now, where was I?? Ahem. ...2, 3, 4... "Aaand they called it/puppy love..."
I often find myself standing in crowded, dark, feverish clubs--pint in one hand, smudged stamp on the other--looking around. Perhaps just like you. Talking, listening to tongues wagging, wagging, and the current bullshit on the beatbox. I've made a career of it for years. You might have as well.
Jack Kerouac - American Haikus (Mp3)
