TVD's Record Store Day 2009 Newswire | Jack White's new project The Dead Weather for exclusive RSD09 7" release

The White Stripes and Raconteurs’ main man, Jack White has a new thing going on. It’s called The Dead Weather, and it makes its debut in the marketplace on April 18th, 2009, Record Store Day.

The Dead Weather’s first two songs, “Hang You Up From The Heavens” and a brilliant cover of Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric?” will be back-to-back on 7” vinyl to be exclusively released for the event.

The band, that sees White actually opting for the drum kit over the guitar this time, is fronted by the Kills’ Alison Mosshart along with Queens Of The Stone Age’s Dean Fertita on guitar and the Raconteurs’ Jack Lawrence on bass, had their first gig a few weeks back at a small club in Nashville, where White also unveiled his new label, Third Man Records.

TVD's Record Store Day 2009 Newswire | Slayer prep exclusive RSD 7" release

"Psychopathy Red," the first new track from Slayer since 2006's thrashterpiece Christ Illusion, will be available as a 7-inch vinyl disc beginning Saturday, April 18, 2009 as part of the second annual Record Store Day. Only 5,000 of these limited edition discs will be manufactured worldwide, and will be available exclusively at participating independent record stores.

The blood-red vinyl "Psychopathy Red" 7-inch collectors item will be packaged in a special Russian crime scene "evidence envelope," as the song was inspired by the heinous Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, aka the Rostov Ripper, who confessed to brutally murdering 56 children. The song was recorded by the band - guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lombardo - in a Los Angeles recording studio last October.

TVD On Your Radio

Goooood morning Washington--we've got a beautiful day shaping up out there although a bit chilly for this time of the year. We've got temps in the mid 30's right now, winds are blowing out of the north, north east at 14 miles per hour--barometric pressure's in the low 30's. We'll hit a high of 49 degrees today and drop into the low 30's overnight. Tomorrow--mostly cloudy in the 50's.

It's 8:11--you're at TVD Radio:
Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) (Mp3)
Exploding Hearts - Shattered (Mp3)
Julian Cope - Sunspots (Mp3)
The Ronettes - I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine (Mp3)
Glasvegas - Daddy's Gone (Mp3)

TVD On Your Radio

Know what I still do each morning to start the day? I turn on the radio like I’ve done for a million years. But over time, radio’s come to turn me off. Where once the staple of the sunrise was the sweet, sweet sound of SOMEthing musical, it’s all news and talk radio for me now.

And it’s not because I’ve abandoned the music stations—they’ve abandoned me. And yes, I have Sirius/XM radio, but aside from Little Steven’s truly inspired garage rock show—the rest of the stuff is the same ol’ box of records--just sorted a bit differently.

I’ve also felt quite often that this blog endeavor was a bit like radio DJing like I did back in my college days. Log into Blogger/switch on the mike—and we’re live.

Well, sit back. Relax. Let me program your radio for a week. Or more.

(Harry Nilsson) Arrow 93FM Radio Spot (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - On Your Radio (Live) (Mp3)
Selecter - On My Radio (Mp3)
Radio Stars - Nervous Wreck (Mp3)
The Clash - This Is Radio Clash (Mp3)
Rush - Spirit Of Radio (Mp3)

SXSW panel report: Wax Attacks!

The gist: Vinyl is making a comeback. Speakers from the pressing plant to the record shop discuss how they cater to the crate diggers and casual fans.

The panelists: Moderator: John Kunz, owner, Waterloo Records; Douglas Hanners, owner, Austin Record Convention; Jay Millar, marketing director, United Record Pressing; Monti Olson, senior vice president, Universal Music Publishing /Interscope; Mason Williams, director A&R, Rhino Entertainment; Sandy Bitman, owner Park Avenue record shop, Orlando.

The lowdown: According to Jay Miller of United Record Pressing, the plant has been producing vinyl since 1949. “Vinyl was king,” he says, “but it died off in the 1990s. I wasn’t even purchasing vinyl back then. It was mostly dance and hip hop DJs buying 12” records, and for a decade that’s what kept us afloat. But the rise of digital has led to a resurgence. As soon as I got my first iPod I was looking at my walls and walls of CDs and didn’t want to let go of all that artwork and those liner notes. And that’s exactly what I liked about vinyl, so I started selling my CDs and putting the money back into vinyl. People wanting artwork are turning to vinyl.”

Sandy Bitman, owner of Park Avenue record shop in Orlando, says for DJs, the 12” is all but dead. “They don’t come into our store any more. Instead it’s people wanting to buy LPs. It’s fun to watch kids of 15 or 16 competing with guys in their 50s and 60s to flip through the vinyl and get to the next letter.

Monti Olson of Universal Music says if consumers are going to spend 30 to 50 dollars on a record they demand a piece of art. “They’ll ask questions before buying a record, like ‘does it come with the original poster’, ‘is it a gatefold’, etc. Artwork is increasingly important to the audiophile market … there’s a social issue with playing vinyl. With an iPod you can’t really have a friend over to listen to music, but with an LP you can put it on, look at the sleeve. And I think we’re going to see more of that.” (By Alex Hannaford/austin360.com.)

TVD's SXSW'09 Event Diary | with your host Leerone

Our good friend Leerone returns to TVD and this time she’s down at the SXSW Music Festival bathing in the warm glow that is creative musical expression. We’ve asked her, in between the music and the festival and the long, long evenings, to send us some thoughts and impressions on what she’s seen go down. Her second dispatch from the festival arrives--now!

SXSW 2009 - Cold War Kids - Part I
Part I. Before the show
I arrived to the Cold War Kids show 2 hours early. I was determined to be in the very front in order to have an unobstructed view when taking photographs. I brought flyers with me, the flyers advertise my free download offer on my website, along with labels to stick onto the flyers while I waited. The labels included my show information (my show was the following day). I would later hand out flyers to any willing recipients. I was pleasantly surprised when three lovely ladies who saw me at work kindly offered to help me with the tedious task (Kelly, Amulya & Charu). Then, another sweet soul joined, and then another and another. After conversing, I learned that they were all Austin natives. Their generosity left me thinking that Austin people are awesome!!


The Art of Shameless Promotion
It takes tremendous courage, strength and conviction to self-promote. It is one of the most challenging and daunting tasks, especially when you are humble and the thing you are promoting is intimately embedded with your deepest emotions. I give Tony Avitia serious props for his approach and execution. Not because it was an effective method (I hope it was), but because he was doing what most artists are too scared and proud to do. I shot this clip inside the Austin Convention Hall, where he stood wearing a gigantic sign with information about his band.

TVD Parting Shots

My dad would have been 79 tomorrow. It’s curious to think that he was born at the very beginning of Spring and departed in the very last hours of Summer. (But ah, the time in between.)

Ten for my dad this week. And your dad. Raise a glass.

ELO - Can't Get It Out Of My Head (Mp3)
The Ink Spots - Don't Believe (Mp3)
Benny Goodman - Jersey Bounce (Mp3)
Glenn Miller - Always In My Heart (Mp3)
Gerry & The Pacemakers - Ferry Cross The Mersey (Mp3)
Crowded House - Silent House (Mp3)
Bon Iver - Blindsided (Mp3)
Elbow - The Everthere (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - So Long Dad (Mp3)
Buckethead - Watching The Boats with My Dad (Mp3)

TVD's SXSW'09 Event Diary | with your host Leerone

Our good friend Leerone returns to TVD and this time she’s down at the SXSW Music Festival bathing in the warm glow that is creative musical expression. We’ve asked her, in between the music and the festival and the long, long evenings, to send us some thoughts and impressions on what she’s seen go down. Her first dispatch from the festival arrives this very morning:

St. Vincent @ Presbyterian Church
Annie Clark of Saint Vincent is not apologetic and I like that. She performed at the Presbyterian Church- the acoustics were gorgeous! She is a sick guitarist. Her voice is deliciously sweet... Definitely a fantastic performer.

Cesi Bastida @ Flamingo
Cesi Bastida, a Latin indie artist from Tijuana, performed at Flamingo last night. She sings in Spanish, dances and plays an array of instruments including the melodica and a tom (drum). She's pretty darn amiable! The band was very tight and looked like they were having the best time (that's always a pleasure to witness). I heard quite a few people in the crowd saying "Te Llamó" and in addition to professing their love, the audience was jumping
and dancing. Her energy is contagious, uplifting and fun.

TVD's Record Store Day 2009 Newswire

...with news of a number of just announced RSD09 vinyl exclusives:

The Record Store Day website has just posted the lowdown on these and other RSD09 exclusives. And if you're watching that ticker up there, we're less than a month away now...

TVD's Alternative Ulcer | Local Music Edition

Last year I was fortunate enough to see 302acid play at Artomatic (seriously, I love this city) last summer and was completely hypnotized by their sound. In fact, I feel almost inadequately equipped to describe what I hear and feel when their sound hits my tympanic membrane. Like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said about obscene material "I know it when I see it," that's how I feel about music that I like - I know it when I hear it. So when my friend Ben told me he would be performing with them on Saturday night, it motivated me to share my enthusiasm for DC-based artists with all you out there in TVD land.

My older brother, as a frequenter of events such as Seattle's Decibel Festival and DEMF could probably describe 302acid's music more articulately than I can, but he doesn't have a column on TVD, so you have to put up with my plebian description. The music is an experimental mix of electronic, samples, ambient noise, beats, and a ton of fantastic. Ben describes 302acid as "much more of a collective than a band so this is just another step in the evolution of the sound."

The show this Saturday will feature live bass, turntables and electronics along with Optical Grooves and Monica on video projections. Their site has a ton of free music, and I'll post a few of what I really enjoyed. This Saturday 302acid, along with Alexsei Borisov (the fact that he's Russian is good enough incentive for me), Violet and a bunch of other musically superb groups will be performing at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring.

DC puts out a ton of great music, and I think that anytime you can go support local artists, you should. Even if that means crossing the line into Maryland. I guarantee, kids, it'll be totally worth it.

302acid - Transmission, Fire Dub (Mp3)
302acid - Quest & Future (Mp3)
302acid - Road Trip to Tokyo (Mp3)
Alexsei Borisov - Engineer Strepetovs Curve (Mp3)
Alexsei Borisov - Automated Management for the Seafood Industry (Mp3)


*thanks to Chester for the sweet artwork.

TVD's Eleven Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways | Week 8!

Well, is it me or do these vinyl giveaways just get bettern' better? (Uh, nope. Not me.)

Promo copy #1!
For the first time with a set rhythm section, critically acclaimed Built To Spill has created its most accomplished and focused album yet. Possessing a collective unorthodox vision, the band's second album, Keep It Like A Secret, builds on the success of 1997's Perfect From Now On. Invoking less analysis and more volume, Doug Martsch, one of today's most influential, independent-minded musicians, has crafted shorter, more direct songs that revel in a literate expressionism rarely heard in alt-rock and yet still rock with the same visceral impulses. Built To Spill may not be a secret much longer.


Promo copy #2!
Lamping -- also known as spotlighting or shining -- is a hunting method in which powerful floodlights are used to locate nocturnal animals in the middle of the night. The animals are either picked off or captured as they panic and flee for safety. It's a brutal, terrifying practice, but Of Montreal have adopted the technique -- albeit in a strictly metaphorical sense! -- on their ninth album, Skeletal Lamping. Over the course of the record's fifteen tracks, Kevin Barnes, the band's singer and songwriter, shines a light on the deepest, darkest corners of his psyche. He uncovers his freakiest fantasies, revisits his past, and explores seemingly contradictory aspects of his personality. The music is both startling in its specificity and inviting in its universality: Taken as a whole, Skeletal Lamping simulates the labyrinthine complexity of the human consciousness.


Your copy!
You know the drill by now, right? Grab our attention in the comments (WITH your email address--important!) gushing over TVD's Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaway Week #8 to set yourself up to win both of these indie gems. (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 (3/23) when we'll choose our winner. (AND launch giveaway #9 of 11--where does the time go...?)

TVD Victory Lap | Joe Jackson

A number of months back I mentioned here that there isn’t a time in memory for me (being of a certain age) that Paul McCartney hasn’t been around making music. You can have your opinions as to a specific Macca era and its merits, but nonetheless, he’s always been THERE.

It’s almost the same for me with Mr. Jackson. Starting with his very first LP, I’ve gone along for the ride through each and every genre he’s investigated—and Joe’s hit ‘em all. I was going to suggest for a moment that he hasn’t written for the stage in any incarnation, but a visit to his website reveals that’s he’s hard at work on "Stoker," which if memory serves me correctly, is a musical based loosely on the life of ‘Dracula’ author, Bram Stoker. Genres fully covered, it seems.

Twenty-two (diverse) LPs, one well-deserved victory lap...

Joe Jackson - One To One (Live) (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - Beat Crazy (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - I'm The Man (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - Mad At You (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - It's Different For Girls (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - Happy Ending (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - Cancer (Live) (Mp3)
Joe Jackson - King Pleasure Time (Mp3)

TVD First Date with | Butch Walker

I hear ya’. You’re saying to yourself, “TVD...TWO ‘First Dates’ in one day?" And we’re saying, "That’s right.” We’re obscenely attractive.

Butch Walker’s been on our radar for years now—first as vocalist for Marvelous 3, then as a solo artist, and later on as writer/producer behind the board for a host of diverse acts such as Avril Lavigne, Family Force 5, Bowling for Soup, Pink, Lit, Simple Plan, Sevendust, Injected, The Donnas, Hot Hot Heat, American Hi-Fi, Default, Puffy AmiYumi, Pete Yorn, Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects, SR-71, and The Academy Is... In no small feat, Butch is currently sitting at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 with his new single "Here Comes The..."

We sat down with Butch who brings his Gang of Merry Musical Melodymakers to the 9:30 this very Saturday night (3/21) to wax poetic on well, wax...and learned a bit about how Butch was forced to reacquire his ENTIRE vinyl collection after ALL of his personal possessions were lost in a devastating house fire in 2007.

"I never thought I would find something come back around, twice in my lifetime, that would be as important, exciting, ageless and timeless as a vinyl record. Sure, there’s stupid fads and nostalgic trends that have come back around.... I dusted off my waistcoats and skinny ties from the 80’s for a quick redux in the last 3 yrs. I tried the ironic, single dangling earring in my left ear (or is it the right one?) for a little ironic hipster fashion. I put disco beats into a couple of songs in the past few years, when I know the first time I heard them in the 70’s and 80’ that it doesn’t REALLY need to come back again (along with the parachute pant, capezios, bell-bottoms, etc..... But they all did). But this one thing that came back, just in the nick of time... When the music business started to crumble, and the quality of the actual sound was reduced to a kid with a laptop and a shitty mp3 of someone’s art was all anyone cared about anymore. It’s like when jack horner in Boogie Nights tried saving the porn industry by hanging onto the art of FILM making, when everyone else was just switching to video TAPE, and not caring about the quality that they shot, but the quantity... Bad analogies aside, it mirrors the business I am in, where it’s more important for how many songs a kid has in his laptop, rather than 5 good ones. And forget about listening to a collective record all the through IN ONE SITTING. Most people follow a modern dj’s lead and only wanna hear maybe a chorus of a song, if that, before skipping to the next song with ... Gasp... A SPACEBAR.

Thank you vinyl. I lost my entire record collection (that had been getting severely neglected because of my mp3 collection as well) to a fire that took everything I owned last year. The first thing I did was go out and buy a great turntable, amp and speakers, then hit the shops to re-collect the collection... I am very proud to say that when I put on anything from Blue Note records, a beat up copy of Blood on the Tracks, or even one of the Capitol remasters of The Bends or OK Computer, my face melts off while sitting on my little couch, listening to all of the quality and detail that went into the records, but most people forgot existed. The crisp hi end, the insane soothing lows. It doesn’t even compare to digital. It has given me practice in patience, focus and concentration again, because I have to listen to 20 minutes of music, sequenced the way it was intended to be heard, before getting up and walking across the room to FLIP THE RECORD OVER and continue. Try that sometime kids...And the album cover artwork actually is visible when it isn’t 3x3 inches. I am back. I am back with vinyl."

Butch Walker - The Weight of Her (Mp3)

TVD First Date with | Lemonwilde

Have I mentioned my criteria for the 'First Dates' feature for year '09? Mantra: just the good shit.

Which is a tough bar to hurl one's self or band over. Self-consciously I actually did without the feature for a few weeks when the crops had thinned. (Get those EPK's to me, kids.)

So, Lemonwilde! For your moody, Muse-y, late nights of dark brooding merriment. (Or, as house band for your wrap party, liiike at Sarah Michelle Gellar’s wrap party in the penthouse at The Hotel Rivington in Manhattan. Y' know, whichever comes first.)

"The sight of a vinyl recording still causes a sensation in most music lovers. Vinyl was the way some of us were introduced to music, along with our little portable record players.  We’d buy our favorite records, and then always flip the record to the “B” side.  There was just something so tangible about buying a new album, or even a 45. An album cover was a carefully planned part of any recording, a treasured casing, lyrics and additional information often printed on the inside sleeve as well.  A vinyl record demanded a different kind of attention—you had to stay in the vicinity and physically tend to the record.  For some reason, we respected all of the songs on an album, listening to it over and over, considering it one work of art.  With digital music, it’s so easy to pluck the “hits” out of a CD and put them into our collection, never really getting to know the other songs."

Lemonwilde - Just This Ashtray (Mp3)
Lemonwilde - Inspired Painter (Mp3)
Lemonwilde - Danse (Mp3)

TVD Victory Lap | Harry Nilsson

If you're a regular or semi-frequent visitor to TVD, Harry Nilsson for a victory lap ain't gonna surprise nor spill that morning cup o' joe steaming on your desk. We're quite Harry-centric.

As we vanquish Winter this week and open the windows to invite in Spring, these six pitch-perfect gems may just be a quite sound soundtrack. And if Harry's new to you, we REALLY need to talk...

Harry Nilsson - Miss Butter's Lament (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Girlfriend (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Wasting My Time (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Open Your Window (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - Maybe (Mp3)
Harry Nilsson - The Moonbeam Song (Mp3)