TVD Fresh Track | New Echo & The Bunnymen

Hm. My jury's yet to return a verdict...

Echo and The Bunnymen - Proxy (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 5 | The First Taste is Free...

Formed from the ashes of two acclaimed New Zealand bands, The D4 and Boxcar Guitars, the raw, primal, and heated True Lovers have arrived with a record that drips with stories of attraction, tension, desire and lust. Y'know - the soundtrack to your weekend bender.

Not only do we have the Lovers' LP up for grabs today, but we're tossing in a True Lovers black tee, a screen printed red tote bag that looks like the cover up there (perfect for record fairs and the like - we tested it) and various and sundry TL stickers with which to deface public property. Seems these lovers are truly giving indeed.




The rules can't be any simpler for our RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaways. All you need to do to enter to win is to leave a comment in the comments section to that week's giveaway letting us know why you deserve to win that week's LP.

Be creative, funny, incisive—whatever it takes to grab our attention to deem you the winner. Most important however is to leave us a contact email address! You can be brilliant as hell, but if we can't track ya' down, you're out of the running.

All winners will all be notified on Monday (3/15) upon the launch of the next RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaway!

True Lovers - Cougar (Mp3)
True Lovers - Death Threat (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 5 | The First Taste is Free...

Right - I've got it—none of you have intern suggestions for us. Undaunted however, we've got another Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaway.

Midlake: We've got the brand new 'Courage of Others' and the 12" from last year, 'Acts of Man' for your outstretched arms today.

"Coming after the hauntingly archaic The Trials Of Van Occupanther, the more personal The Courage Of Others is bracing—stunning, even. Last time out, Midlake invited listeners to flip through photos of the distant past. This time, they transport us there, and leave us with no easy exit," the AV Club wrote in February.



The rules can't be any simpler for our RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaways. All you need to do to enter to win is to leave a comment in the comments section to that week's giveaway letting us know why you deserve to win that week's LP.

Be creative, funny, incisive—whatever it takes to grab our attention to deem you the winner. Most important however is to leave us a contact email address! You can be brilliant as hell, but if we can't track ya' down, you're out of the running.

All winners will all be notified on Monday (3/15) upon the launch of the next RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaway!

Midlake - Acts of Man (Mp3)

The TVD First Date (...and a ticket giveaway!) | April Smith and the Great Picture Show

"I’ve had sort of an odd obsession with vinyl since I was a little kid. My dad is a musician and we had some of his singles on 45’s. My sister and I used to play his records all of the time and we thought he was the shit. He had his own record with his name on it and he was our dad. His vinyl collection was insane! And the best part was that he let us listen to everything, and even encouraged it.

We had crates and crates of 45’s…Motown, Doo-wop, Swing, Folk, Rock…everything. When I was alone, I would put blankets all over the floor of our room arrange all of the records, side by side, according to label color. We had so many that I’d back my self into a corner and just stare at all the records, a rainbow vinyl terrazzo before me. One day my mom caught me with all of the records out and she took them away from me. I was heartbroken at the time, but I look back now and I’m glad she did or probably would have ruined all of it and hated myself.



My family has a vacation house in the Poconos, near East Stroudsburg, PA. I go up there to hang out every now and then to relax or write. There’s a great record shop called Main Street Jukebox and they’ve always had an excellent selection. I’ve been going there for years and I’ve found things there that I could never find anywhere else. There was a fire there years back and I was so bummed for them. But they bounced back like nothing happened and, thankfully, they’re still around and doing incredibly well. There’s real cool little music scene there and I think Main Street Jukebox is a big part of that scene, like a little heartbeat keeping it all going.

I wouldn’t say my own collection is respectable in size or quality by most standards. And my turntable isn’t anything magnificent either. But I’ll take any of my records on my garage-sale turntable over the highest quality digital recording any day. There’s just something magical in those 180 grams of crackle and pop."

April Smith and the Great Picture Show - Movie Loves A Screen (Mp3)
April Smith and the Great Picture Show - Colors (Mp3)


Suitably swooning with an odd obsession with vinyl ala April's? Spill it in the comments to this post and we'll award one of you a pair of tickets to see April Smith and the Great Picture Show this Saturday night (3/13) at The Rock and Roll Hotel with Here We Go Magic.

You have til noon on Friday (3/12) to inspire us with your tale. Remember to leave us contact info too! Now, go!

TVD Fresh Track | New from Kitten

I go on these tears when I hear a new track that I’m totally into – I play it over and over and over and over again as if to brainwash myself so I can walk around singing the thing. Or inhabiting it.

So far I’ve played this Kitten track 16 times. And I first heard it about 3PM yesterday.

Oh – and Kitten’s lead singer, Chloe Chaidez is, uh – 15.

And a star.

Kitten - Don't Kill The Light (Mp3)

TVD Fresh Tracks | New Paul Weller

Paul Weller releases his tenth studio solo album "Wake Up The Nation" on April 19th on Island Records and 2 new tracks from the forthcoming album have been remixed. The album's title track "Wake Up The Nation" has been remixed by Zinc, and single "No Tears To Cry" has had a reworking by Leo Zero.

Lean, mean and as uncompromisingly focused as it's maker, "Wake Up The Nation" also brings Paul Weller full circle: twenty-eight years on from The Jam's split, two tracks feature the former bassist Bruce Foxton. The album also sees contributions from My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, The Move's Bev Bevan and legendary session drummer Clem Cattini.

Paul Weller - Wake Up The Nation [Zinc Remix] (Mp3)
Paul Weller - No Tears To Cry [Leo Zero Remix] (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 5 | The First Taste is Free...

I’ll let you guys in on a little secret...we’re actually on vacation this week.

Couldn’t tell could you? Because, well...we’re here.

Wait a sec – let me bring this back around into the first person. I’m here this week – and it’s a mental break to not have had some overarching thing or concept to bloggabout. Whoo man, does my brain need a rest.

See, there’s an underlying effort at work here at TVD HQ which involves all of the coordination it takes to align everyone’s ducks and get their content submitted and their Mp3s converted from whichever random file type. And of course there’s the conjuring up of the pretty graphics too.

Plus there’s the scheduling a-plenty. For example, did you know the blog’s booked clear til Record Store Day – 4/17? Well, right – you do now. We’re quite happily very busy.

So, what do we do when we need a mental break of sorts? We give away vinyl, just like your friendly neighborhood, schoolyard drug dealer. “The first taste is freeee...”


Today’s we’ve got Jonathan Richmans’ superb latest effort, “Beacause Her Beauty is Raw and Wild” out on Neil Young’s Vapor Records. This is his fifth release on Vapor and his first new album in three+ years. “Because...” features eleven new tracks, plus a new version of "Old World" and a Leonard Cohen cover, "Here It Is". This vinyl version also includes a 7" single with a bonus track.

We’ve got an interesting take on how to win JR’s LP: we want your recommendations for an intern to help us with our various and sundry coordination efforts that go on behind the scenes each day. For college credit or just the experience alone, send us your hungry music-addled, post-adolescents to put to work.


And if you don’t have a suggestion for an intern, how about a recommendation for a vacation spot? Because after 4/17 we're gonna need a bender. And a nap.

You have til Monday, 3/15 to submit your entry in the comments to this post to win JR's LP. Send us your intern recommendations—with contact info!—and no.

...I'm not kidding.

Jonathan Richman - Because Her Beauty Is Raw And Wild (Mp3)

TVD Ticket & Vinyl Giveaway | Casper Bangs, Saturday, March 13 at The Black Cat

We're on the record as saying, "To be clear, we think DC's Casper Bangs is f'n great" and not one bit of our enthusiasm has waned, thank you. But don't take our word for it - find out for yourself.

We've got a pair of tickets to the see the band this Saturday night (3/13) with Midnight Kids at The Black Cat—and the recent "Whitespace" 7" for one of you guys to claim in the comments to this post.



From Dischord where you can purchase the 7": Latest release from former Hard Tomorrows member. This 7" is a preview of Casper Bangs’ full-length record, I Woke Up. It was written and performed by Rob Pierangeli at his desktop computer in the midst of relational bliss - it's a document of a good thing that ultimately goes bad. The songs contain strong unaffected vocals balanced with harmony, layers of noisy guitars, and reverb.

This great looking 7" is on white vinyl, has a single level embossed cover and is a split release between Planaria and North Sea Records.

Limited Edition: 500 copies, hand numbered. Comes with a free 5 song download of the 'Casper Bangs' EP.


There you have it - a pair of tickets for Saturday night's show and the 7" as a way of arm-twisting you into becoming a Casper Bangs convert. You're welcome.

Plead your case for both in the comments to this post—with contact info!—and the one that's suitably convincing will take home the tickets and the vinyl. You have til noon on Friday (3/12) to get as us!

Casper Bangs - Skylark (Mp3)
Casper Bangs - Night Train (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 5 | The First Taste is Free...

I’ve been the happy recipient of a few "Aw, thanks...” emails recently in response to alerting someone that they’ve won a record in our Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways. More to the point, a handful have mentioned that they don’t even own a turntable (yet!) and/or this win will enable them to rekindle the relationship with their own turntables that went unattended for this or that reason.

And to this I say – fantastic.

I often wonder if we’re just preaching to the choir or making new converts along the way and I’m starting to think that when the first taste is free, you’ll be coming around for more.

So, this week while we take a short break from our label showcases (and we have some really cool ones coming up) we’re giving away more vinyl. All week.

First up – Athens, GA’s Twin Tigers’ debut LP, Gray Waves out now on Old Flame Records.

Aquarium Drunkard’s quote alone sold me: "A four piece, the bands live show kills, reminiscent of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine and Psychocandy era JAMC."

What’s not to love?

The rules can't be any simpler for our RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaways. All you need to do to enter to win is to leave a comment in the comments section to that week's giveaway letting us know why you deserve to win that week's LP.

Be creative, funny, incisive—whatever it takes to grab our attention to deem you the winner. Most important however is to leave us a contact email address! You can be brilliant as hell, but if we can't track ya' down, you're out of the running.

All winners will all be notified on Monday (3/15) upon the launch of the next RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaway!


Twin Tigers - Passive Idol (Mp3)

TVD Class of '72 | Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose

It's been another long while, but we've re-established contact with our correspondent from the '70s.

"Listen, man," he said when he checked in the other day. "You really have no idea just how hard it is to make that trip from the '70s."

"So what did he bring us from the sweet blue haze of time?"

"Ah, I think you'll like this, man. It's another one from 1972."

Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose emerged from the Miami area as the '70s dawned. Carter and Eddie Cornelius were indeed brothers, Rose was indeed their sister and another sister, Billie Jo, rounded out the group.


They're best known for two smash pop-soul singles,"Treat Her Like a Lady" from 1971 and "Too Late To Turn Back Now" from 1972. Both are on this LP, the self-titled "Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose" from 1972.

This was the high point of their career. The group broke up in 1976. Both brothers turned to careers that mixed music with the ministry. Eddie, who wrote most of the group's material, is still at it. Carter died in 1991. Rose, a gospel singer in the late '60s before the group was formed, also remains active.

So here's a sampling. One of the hits, one of the fine deep tracks and a rarely-heard cover.

Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose - Treat Her Like a Lady (Mp3)
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose - Let Me Down Easy (Mp3)
Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose - Let's Stay Together [Al Green cover] (Mp3)

All from "Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose," 1972. The LP out of print. The first two cuts are available on this CD and digitally. The latter isn't found on any compilation.

TVD Fresh Track | New from Annuals

In 2006, Raleigh, NC band Annuals turned quite a few heads with their debut album, Be He Me. Their expansive, energetic sound and tight pop sensibility captured the hearts and ears of both listeners and critics. They released their sophomore album, Such Fun, on Canvasback Records, in 2008.

Now, armed with a reputation for solid songwriting and several years of experience, Annuals go back to the formula and sound that first cemented their acclaim.

The Sweet Sister EP marks band leader Adam Baker's return to the producer role, Annuals' return to a more tight-knit DIY collective, and a pure distillation of their trademark quirky pop experimentalism.

Sweet Sister will be released on Banter Records on March 30. Annuals will be touring in the spring.
Annuals - Loxtep (Mp3)

TVD's Ten Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways - Week 4 | Georgia Anne Muldrow

From my point of view, the best part of our Ten Weeks of RSD 2010 Vinyl Giveaways is being exposed to new music and new artists that I may not have heard otherwise. Such is the case with this week's featured artist behind our LP giveaway, Georgia Anne Muldrow. Hell, I've been listening to her all weekend at this point.

With aspirations to be a modern-day Quincy Jones, Muldrow is truly a renaissance musician. She is always looking to take her craft to a higher ground. She channels her unstoppable creativity into music that is commercially viable but does not lose sight of her essence as an artist who challenges the norm. She bears the enviably ability to play all her own instruments, and write and perform her own songs. Everything you hear on Kings Ballad is handcrafted and non-sample-based. She has been called a modern day Nina Simone, and fans of Chaka Khan and Betty Davies would feel at home with Kings Ballad, too.

In the midst of amazingly fruitful studio time, she cranked out several albums and compilations in 2009, on the back of recent collaborations with the mighty Mos Def (on his Ecstatic album), and Erykah Badu (on her New Amerykah album). Kings Ballad is the latest work and is all original and exclusive. On most Muldrow sings, on other she raps, sometimes both, always effortlessly. Perkins joins in on a couple of tracks, Medaphor lays down a quick rhyme, her son Nokware throws down the occasional rattle, but otherwise it’s pretty much Muldrow all the way.


Georgia Anne also appears on the limited edition 10" EP by Bei Bei & Shawn Lee, 'Beauty and the Beats' which we're including in the giveaway this week as well.

New music by Gu Zheng performer Bei Bei and Ubiquity producer Shawn Lee marries a unique blend of ancient tradition with studio trickery and spiritual jazz. This uplifting, genre-bending, soundclash recalls the afrocentric harping of Dorothy Ashby, the hypnotic style of Alice Coltrane, and the organic electronics of Four Tet and Quantic.

For this introductory, limited edition 10” EP, we include the original and instrumental versions of “Make Me Stronger,” with a vocal by Georgia Anne Muldrow who has recently produced and sang on records by Mos Def and Erykah Badu (she is also working on a solo record for Ubiquity.) Alongside these, is a storming version of the Billy Paul psychedelic soul opus “East.” And a remix by UK producer Floating Points (whose “Love Me Like This”, “Vacuum Boogie”, and “Radiality” releases have been turning heads all year long) takes the track deep into FP vs. Wu-Tang territory.


As we cut and pasted five times last week—the rules can't be any simpler for our RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaways. All you need to do to enter to win is to leave a comment in the comments section to that week's giveaway letting us know why you deserve to win that week's LP.

Be creative, funny, incisive—whatever it takes to grab our attention to deem you the winner. Most important however is to leave us a contact email address! You can be brilliant as hell, but if we can't track ya' down, you're out of the running.

All winners will all be notified on Monday (3/8) upon the launch of the next RSD2010 Vinyl Giveaway!

It's a TVD/Record Store Day Happy Hollows Vinyl Giveaway!

Update: Nobody grabbed these tickets (wha?) but we still have the two 7" singles. Take e'm!


Who says we're nothing but timely?

Tomorrow night The Happy Hollows play The Black Cat.

Today we've got a pair of tickets and their 'Imaginary' 7" EP to give away to one swift commenter who swoops in and takes 'em both in our 24-Hour Giveaway!

The fire drill's the same - get at us in the comments, make your best case to be declared the winner of the tickets and the 7", and we'll choose the most convincing of the bunch.

Never fear however if you find yourself a bit slow on the draw with this one. We'll award one runner up the 'Imaginary' 7" EP next Monday (3/8) when we launch our brand new RSD2010 Giveaways.

So...go!


The Happy Hollows - Faces (Mp3)
The Happy Hollows - Silver (Mp3)

TVD's Sarathan Records Parting Shots

"Well, it's Friday - the last day of our Sarathan Records spotlight.

This week, each band shared an exclusive song, selected just for The Vinyl District in celebration of the upcoming Record Store Day (April 17th). Don't fret that our week is over - we have more music to share! Two more songs from Thunder Buffalo, Two Loons for Tea, Feral Children, Peter Bradley Adams and War Tapes.

Thanks so much for hanging out and letting us share our record store memories - now go out and make your own!"


War Tapes - The Night Unfolds (Mp3)
(From 'The Continental Divide')
Feral Children - On a Frozen Beach (Mp3)
(From 'Brand New Blood')
Thunder Buffalo - BeBop Sing-A-Long (Mp3)
(From 'Thunder Buffalo' s/t)
Two Loons For Tea - Monkey 3:49 (Mp3)
(From 'Nine Lucid Dreams')
Peter Bradley Adams - For You (Mp3)
(From 'Traces')
Feral Children - Universe Design (Mp3)
(From 'Brand New Blood')
Two Loons For Tea - Blue Suit (Mp3)
(From 'Looking For Landmarks')
Thunder Buffalo - Gloomy In Us All (Mp3)
(From 'Thunder Buffalo' s/t)
Peter Bradley Adams - Always 4:00 (Mp3)
(From 'Leavetaking')
War Tapes - Dreaming of You (Mp3)
(From 'The Continental Divide')

Our thanks to Jonathan Kochmer, founder of Sarathan Records, and Jessica Drenkel for her tireless coordination this week.

TVD's Record Store Day 2010 Label Showcase | Sarathan Records

I used to intern for a record label when I lived in Washington, DC. One of my responsibilities was visiting the many record stores in and around the DC area and hang up posters for the different bands I was helping to promote.

One of the band's posters that I hung up was a two sided poster, one of the sides was a full band shot and the other was an album cover shot. Whenever I hung up the album cover side of the poster I would tear off the white bar that was perforated. But the other side of the white strip was one of the band members faces. I remember always feeling bad for some reason tearing off this poor guy! Sometimes I would end up with a big stack of this one band member and would feel so sad throwing him away!


This went on for about a month at each and every record store I visited. One day the band from the poster came through DC, I was supposed to meet them and help out the label! When I met the band member who's face I had stared at for a month I felt like I knew him already! It was so weird! What's weirder is that he is now my husband and the drummer of War Tapes!
—Becca Popkin, Bassist and backing vocals



Growing up in Hawai'i, it was difficult to find new music as there was little to no touring bands rolling through town. And it was always a gamble when ordering mail order through an ad in Maximum Rock n' Roll.

There was one local music store called Jelly's that was a small indie store that also carried comics, books, baseball cards, d&d stuff, magic card stuff, novelty toys, and anything else nerdy that you would ever want. It was like a haven for every skateboarding punk kid in west Oahu and we would spend hours peeling through the new and used tapes and cd's.


They had a small vinyl section and I remember that they usually only stocked one of each 7" single. My friends and I were convinced that this was the best deal because a punk rock 7" would usually have 4-9 songs on the 14 minute record. AND it would only cost like $3.50. So it was always a race to purchase the new 7" from bands like Screeching Weasel, the Queers, Green Day, Op Ivy, anything off of Lookout or Epitaph records really, Bad Religion, and bands like Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Naked Raygun, etc.

You had to be on it and we knew the delivery schedule for when to check for new digs. Almost every record I bought between the age of 11 to 17 was from that store. And those were the records that defined who I was and who I was going to be. For Real.

—Matthew Bennett, guitarist


War Tapes - Supposed Human (Mp3)
(Exclusive TVD/Record Store Day Track!)