Good news, enthusiasts! It looks like your Local Independent Record Store(LIRS)  will probably be open for another year thanks to this year’s ultra-succesful Record Store Day. RSD 2013 was so big, in fact, it push vinyl LP sales numbers higher than they have been in 22 years.

According to Nielsen Soundscan, 244,000 vinyl LPs were sold on the week of April 21. This represents the largest number of vinyl albums moved since SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991.

Read more at MStars

Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.

SONG OF THE DAY – YOU MAKE MY DREAMS – HALL & OATES
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – OUT OF MY LEAGUE – FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS

OLD SCHOOL SEGMENT

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Coheed And Cambria Release ‘Amory Wars’ Video Game

LOCAL MUSIC SEGMENT

NEW, NEWER SEGMENT

David Bowie Breaks The Silence on The Next Day Album With 42 Cryptic Words

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hosted a special screening of Wayne’s World followed by a panel with the cast

The National performed two new songs off of their forthcoming album Trouble Will Find Me on Jimmy Fallon

TRACK LIST

Other numbers worth highlighting?  Rolling Stone writes that, “total album sales increased by three percent over last year, and by 60 percent over the previous week,” and, “sales for vinyl LPs at independent record stores, which sold 200,000 units this year as opposed to 147,000 units last year, increased by 36 percent.”

What does this all mean?  It means that our local record stores, places like Laurie’s Planet of Sound, Val’s Halla, Dave’s Records, Reckless, Reggie’s and all the rest get a nice bump every April.  Yes, music can easily be purchased online these days, and music fans would be foolish not to take advantage of this wonderfully convenient technology.  We’re able to sample and consume music much faster and with more frequency than we were 30, 20, even 10 years ago, but when we make time for our local record stores and bring home some vinyl and other physical releases from time to time, we’re supporting our local businesses, our communities, and we’re giving a nod to the fellow music lover who spends most of his/her working life stocking the store with as many records as possible, so that you and I can spend an afternoon geeking out on stuff like Cypress Hill’s 20th Anniversary Edition of Black Sunday and the Dazed & Confused soundtrack on “weed green vinyl.”  I love Record Store Day and I’ll be back at the shops several times before next April.

Here are some purchases from this past weekend…

What’s Making Me Happy This Week is column that appeared on Grantland Tuesday, written by Steven Hyden, called “Looking at Record Store Day and the 10-Year Anniversary of iTunes.” Hyden begins his column by making a point almost exactly like the one I made one day prior – he believes in the principle of Record Store Day but isn’t happy about the naked cash grab that it has become in practice. There is a footnote he adds to this indicating how closely aligned Hyden and I are on this subject:

I should also note that my support of Record Store Day is now purely symbolic. It’s actually the one day I don’t like going to record stores. I just can’t handle the crowds. When it comes to record stores, I’m a serious drinker, and Record Store Day is New Year’s Eve.

You may recall that I specifically went on a record store tour of my own on Sunday (see “My Own Personal Record Store Day”), “Canadian Record Store Day” (come on people, this has to stick!), and had a delightful time picking up some choice vinyl. It’s fun to read a rock journalist and vinyl enthusiast like Hyden share my perspective.

The rest of Hyden’s column wanders all over the place, as his point veers from RSD to the growth of digital music sales to the ubiquity of the iPod to the death of the iPod to the growth of streaming music services to the question about what it means to “own” music to the beauty of owning vinyl to the eventual inevitable nostalgia for mp3s. Whew. Did that confuse you? Me too. I can’t decide what exactly Hyden thinks about the current state or future of music – is vinyl the future? are digital files dead? – or why this is all couched in his feelings about RSD and the 10th anniversary of iTunes, which ostensibly are the column’s two main themes. In other words, it sounds just like almost every column I write here on 2bitmonkey!

Hyden has so much to say about music – not just in the auditory sense but what music is and means as a cultural presence in our lives – that he can’t possibly distill it into a single thesis in a random Tuesday morning column. Record Store Day makes him think about how he shops for music which makes him think about iTunes which makes him think about Spotify which makes him think about ownership which brings him back to vinyl. It’s a 21st century hypertext way of thinking and writing … and it works. At least it does for me. Glad to see someone else I enjoy reading and that is published in a prominent space is doing it too.

And That’s What’s Making Me Happy This Week.

Trying to figure out the meaning behind the title, Porno for Pyros, is like trying to tie your shoes with oven mitts on your hands. You can see the end result in your head, but damned if it’s not impossible to get to. People attribute too much meaning to things anyway, so I’m going to skip the meaningless meaning behind PfP, and continue on with my daily ramblings.

The music, not unlike a cloud of sadness, is loud, funky, rhythmically driven, and unmistakably awesome! There is a certain amount of solace that can be found in sadness, and it’s evident that Perry and crew tapped into that power for Porno for Pyros, because quiet frankly, it’s a pretty bleak album. Like a warm pair of socks on a cold, dreary day, or a calming breeze during those hot August nights, Porno for Pyros can abate your less-than-optimal mood, whenever it rears its ugly, yet familiar noggin.

A beautiful tie-dyed vinyl version was released just this past Saturday for Record Store Day. Limited to 1000 copies, this gorgeous record is going for up to $100 over at Discogs, so I hope you were able to brave the goofballs in line for a copy, because, it really is quite something.

Facebook | Last.fm

Record Store Day arrived with a new vinyl release from Deftones, an American alternative metal band. Live: Volume I: Selections from Adrenaline is the first release in a series of vinyl releases by the band. The idea is to release one of these for every studio album, each month. The vinyl includes 3 songs from the band’s debut album, Adrenaline, and also one B-Side called “Teething”. All four songs are recorded live, and taken from a concert back in 1996.

The sound quality is surprisingly good, and the songs sound really raw and energetic. Deftones had a more simple sound back when they started, but the material on this vinyl shows flashes of brilliance, that would later come on albums like Around the Fur and White Pony. The quality of the songs themselves is another question. Generally it often takes a band one or two albums to really get going, and in this case it’s easy to overlook the songs as being juvenile or unpolished, because the songs are not bad. I would say the strength of this release is that it gives you an experience of how Deftones sounded when they were a new band, touring for their first album.  Things have evolved since, and the band has undoubtedly become a much better band, but the early songs are charming, and they still work. “Engine No.09” finishes off the vinyl, and it was being performed live by the band on a regular basis as recently as 2010.

As a standalone Deftones release, this is a pretty great vinyl. The band has made better music, but it features interesting performances of some of the best songs from their debut album being played live. It’s a unique and charming release. It’s even more interesting now to see what they will do with the Around the Fur and White Pony vinyl next.

Standout Tracks: Engine No.09, Minus Blindfold, Nosebleed

ヴァイナルや　もってうっとり　ヴァイナルや

聴ければもっと　楽しいだろに……!?

V Is For Vinyl :
extra “Cheers For The Record Store Day !”

そんなわけで、“レコードストアデイ”に端を発す当テーマ、終わったつもりだったのですが、なんとなくうれしい報せをみたのでもう少し。なんか前週土曜日の同キャンペーンのためにつくられたヴァイナルLPが計200,000セットも売れたのだそうで。んでもってそれは、昨年同イヴェントで売られた147,000セットを36%も上まわるという好成績だったらしく。

しかし、レコードプレイヤーをもっていないのに買ってしまった人も少なからずいたりして。頭を真っ白にしてじっと盤を眺めていればいつしかふっと心に音が響く、ってものでもなかろうに。まァ、何でもまずはカタチからという事で……。

By Danny R. Phillips

For the neo-hippie contingent, April 20^th is a borderline religious holiday; for someone like me however, 4/20 this year held a much more important distinction then being a day of getting high and killing a bag or two of Chili Cheese Fritos: this year, 4/20 was Record Store Day.

Record Store Day, for those not familiar with vinyl geekdom, is a day set aside to celebrate brick and mortar record shops.  Places like Lovegarden Sounds and Kief’s Audio, both in Lawrence, KS, The Lucky Tiger, Joe City Records and Record Wearhouse in St. Joseph, MO and to a lesser degree, outlets like Hastings that carry the almighty records.  Many record labels and bands press limited run vinyl.  Doing so in hopes that worshippers of the hallowed black circle (ok, sometimes it’s clear, a picture disc or colored) will max out credit cards, drain bank accounts and obliterate tax refunds; all to purchase some long lost Husker Du, a coveted “Songs for Slim” or a tenth anniversary offering of The White Stripes “Elephant” on alternate color vinyl.

Hüsker Dü’s 2013 Record Store Day release, Amusement.

I would like to think I am above the hoopla, this painfully obvious money grab, that my standards are higher, my resolve stronger.  They were not.  I bought in hook, line and sinker.  I got up early with my teenaged daughter Drew in tow as we headed to St. Joe for some deals.  Disappointed, I found that none of the outlets in St. Joe was carrying any of the special RSD releases.  Thanks to a couple good friends (thanks Clint and Steve) I landed the records I wanted but it got me thinking.  “I don’t need one day a year to shine a light on my beloved records. For me, every day is Record Store Day.”

I truly love the idea of walking into a record shop, digging through the racks with little to no plan; the only clear objective is to find something to enjoy.  Curiosity guiding my fingers, mind racing,  What will I find?  What will I find?  This feeling is the meaning of Record Store Day to me.  Long ago, I traded in “hobbies” that did nothing but harm me, eating away at my being, allowing my love of records to take their place, never to look back.

The Stooges / Black Keys “No Fun” Split 7″ released for Record Store Day 2013.

It is corny I know but music and records have always been a shelter of sorts for me.  As a kid, I could block the world outside, ignore the pain of the many surgeries that came along with my Cerebral Palsy, the negativity brought to bear by an a-hole stepfather.  With the help of some 1970’s earmuff headphones, a scratchy LP carefully selected from my Mom or older sister’s collections and a cool gatefold jacket to get lost in, I could forget who I was, be someone else.

Records and the music held within the grooves calmed my soul during some of the most trying times of my life. The loss of my beloved grandfather, moving away from my friends, abuse and loss have all been made better by a disc spinning at 78, 45 or 33 and a third rpm.  I’ve built a soundtrack through and because of these experiences.  That music that has stayed with me for my entire 38 years and will until I leave this Earth.

Sure, I got “No Alternative,” The Cure’s “Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me,” Husker Du’s “Amusement/Statues” and the side by side Stooges/Black Keys doing the classic garage monster “No Fun.”  It was a good Record Store Day but then again, every day is Record Store Day to me.

Here’s another great LP I picked up on Record Store Day!

“Rare Italian library reissue set for release on Records Store Day – a 1979 concept gem “Desert” by composer / arrangers Antonio Vuolo and Elio Grande, originally released on small Italian label, Cardium.“

]]> http://shutterbeater.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/komunal-at-omusesukahati/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:34:23 +0000 shutterbeater http://shutterbeater.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/komunal-at-omusesukahati/ KOMUNAL tampil dalam perayaan Record Store Day di Omuniuum bertajuk #omusesukahati, Bandung 20 April 2013

wow…. if you weren’t here on saturday, then perhaps you saw the photo we posted, and if not, well you missed something truly insane! a massive line up to get in for record store day, line up to pay for almost the entire day. so many smiling friendly faces. so many record lovers. such great times! thank you thank you thank you to every single person who came down and supported the shop. and now, back to normal… killer records, all the time! and this week is a doozy, one of my all time favorite albums finally reissued on vinyl, for the first time ever, and a whole lot of other rad stuff too….

 …..pick of the week…..

*bill fay – time of the last persecution – 4 men with beards – lp

- hell ya! this is one of the best albums ever! so happy to finally own this thing on vinyl… “time of the last persecution is bill fay’s second and final album for the deram label, originally released in 1971. an absolute classic of melancholy (borderline morbid) folk-rock that falls somewhere between pearls before swine, leonard cohen, and a suicide prevention hotline. time of the last persecution is almost single-mindedly obsessed with end times so it’s fitting that this brilliant album would be his last release for over 30 years. now that fay is back with a new and highly lauded album, it’s high time that his classic, definitive statement, is available again on 180 gram vinyl.” you need this in your life…. 

…..new arrivals…..

a certain ratio – to each – drastic plastic – lp
- hand-numbered, limited edition of 180-gram vinyl or coloured vinyl. originally released on factory records in 1981, and produced by legendary joy division producer martin hannett, a certain ratio is known for their post-punk masterpiece to each. here is a haunting exploration of the dark crannies and corners that might be contained inside a jazz cathedral. for fans of the durutti column, the pop group, joy division, and p.i.l. remastered for vinyl by masterdisk.
a hawk & a hacksaw – you have already gone to the other world – l.m. dupli-cation – lp
- the duo of jeremy barnes (neutral milk hotel) and heather trost, known for performing traditional and original music steeped in eastern european folk traditions, present their sixth album. the sixteen tracks feature seven originals along with nine ukrainian, hungarian and romanian traditional songs re-imagined and arranged with inspiration taken from the legendary 1964 film shadows of forgotten ancestors by russian filmmaker sergey paradjanov.
akron/family – sub verses – dead oceans – lp
- ”the album started with visions of large monumental sounds inspired by heizer and turrell; american works on a grand scale, monuments, dirty hands and an epic american masculinity. dust, stone, sky, earth. these broad, bold strokes would come to pass but not quite as expected. from shamanic hypno-mantras to noise-damaged soul anthems to north african street frenzy, from droning microtonal balladry to modular synthesizer destruction to lynchian doo-wop and back again. the sound is propulsive and driven by it’s physicality, and a disciplined acknowledgement of lineage. akron/family is here, with drums and guitars like divining rods calling on sonny sharrock and link wray, on elvin jones and john bonham, on jimmy garrison and aston barrett.
*barn owl – v – thrill jockey – lp
- “barn owl has always specialized in devotional darkness, pushing desert rock into previously unexplored, murky territories. v marks a shift in approach for the duo of jon porras and evan caminiti. the pair augmented their arsenal of guitars and effects with an array of electronics, vastly expanding the album’s sounds and textures. special attention was given to implied rhythms nestled within dense slow building environments, giving the album a rhythmic presence, albeit one that is buried beneath intricate layers. theirs is a ghostly rhythm, almost beyond reach.”
cosmonauts – if you wanna die then i wanna die – ayo silver – lp
- reissue of the cosmonauts’ second lp, originally released in 2012 by burger records. punk, rock’n'roll, and psychedelic music, reminding the contemporary big names of the style, such as thee oh sees, ty segall, moon duo, or the growlers. what you will find in this album is a combination of rock and roll beats, psychedelic vibes and punk attitude that transcends those genres. in a field where bands are usually subscribed to the same clichés, cosmonauts drown them. their music arises from the stomach, it’s as real as a punch full of anger, like a cold shower or sweaty pogo-dancing in first row. despite their significant charisma, cosmonauts are a perfect example of this generation; a new scene full of bands reading the past but writing the future, but they also reference the velvet underground, silver apples, or sst bands. cosmonauts take us on a psychedelic field-trip empowered by amphetaminic punk nerve on this album, and on other tunes they dig atmospheric loops with minimalistic structures while maintaining a pop heart.
disappears – kone – disappears – 12″
- disappears take 30-plus minutes to stretch out into the void, get abstract and make something that’s rare these days-music that asks the listener to listen. two different versions of “kone” (the b-side “edit” ends in a lock groove to infinity!) plus one new cut to boot. precedes the next disappears lp era due out in the fall of 2013 on kranky. limited edition of 1,000 copies with download.
*expo seventy – virtually from the unknown – sonic meditations – lp
- “expo ’70 is mainly known for being the work of justin wright with the occasional contribution of other musicians, primarily dabbling in drone, krautrock, psychedelic rock and kosmische music. this new release features a trio line-up of wright accompanied by aaron osborne and mike vera. rounded out by bass and drums, a heavier doom-inspired psychedelic journey from the drop of the needle takes the listener into the inner tangled web of sound and locked grooves from the rhythm section allowing wright to express washes of textures and breaking loose on more rock-esque guitar playing. as the needle drops onto side b, ‘closet full of candles’ opens as a huge sabbathy riff and get’s into stoner rock territory and quickly becomes dismantled by a wash of psychedelic jamming.”
luc ferrari – programme commun – sub rosa – lp
- sub rosa presents two substantial pieces from electro-acoustic musique concrete innovator luc ferrari: “programme commun pour clavecin et bande magnetique” (1972), performed by elisabeth chojnacka, and another previously-unreleased piece that he held dear: “les emois d’aphrodite” (1986/1998), performed by san francisco’s mc band under his direction. “‘programme commun…’: although cheerful, this piece of music asks a serious question: can one separate one’s political and artistic concerns, either directly, as a film can allow, or indirectly, as in this music? mostly though, this music is my way of commemorating the signing, in 1972, of the programme commun. ‘les emois d’aphrodite’: from the 1986 version i have retained the character of this piece, a kind of disjointed rock that periodically pops up as aphrodite’s dance. i have added harmonic ‘manipulations,’ or a progression toward disjointed harmony, which is what i currently look for (i have not said ‘which is my current aesthetics’). finally, the introduction of samplers makes it possible to convey the liveliness of time to disjoint tones.” –luc ferrari
*genius/gza – liquid swords – get on down – 4lp + chess set
- back in! “for record store day, get on down is proud to bring you gza’s liquid swords in its most deluxe treatment ever. the liquid swords chess box contains the entire liquid swords album and complete instrumentals, as well as in depth, full color liner notes with contributions from gza himself, inner jackets and dust sleeves with memorable vintage artwork from the original release, and even a complete full-sized wooden chess set, which can be played on the chess board contained on the inner lining of the box. housed in a sturdy wrapped hard board box with a deluxe magnetic clasp, this edition of liquid swords spans across eight sides of vinyl with the complete album as a double lp and the full rza produced instrumentals as a double lp. the album features appearances by the entire wu-tang clan, and includes the auspicious debut of killah priest on ‘b.i.b.l.e.’ liquid swords now has the vinyl reissue deserving of a project acknowledged as one of the ’100 best rap albums’ by the source and ‘top 100 records of the 1990s’ by pitchfork.”
*gravetemple – ambient/ruin – ideologic organ – 2lp
- gravetemple was formed in 2006 as a side-project of the band sunn o))) by oren ambarchi, stephen o’malley and attila csihar. the group formed initially to tour in israel in the summer of ’06, creating several recordings which eventually became the holy down album, which was released on southern lord recordings in 2007. at the time of the israel tour, the lebanon war started and was in action. in summer ’08, the trio reformed together with the addition of australian drummer matt “skitz” sanders for a short european tour culminating in a headlining performance at supersonic festival in birmingham. in late 2009, the original trio reconvened for a special one-off concert at london’s institute of contemporary arts. april 2013 marks the first set of live action since that period, and a new chapter in the ongoing system of the related network. ambient/ruin was created with the 2008 quartet — elements of tape collage, concrète, and field recordings blend within a strong, geographically-diverse (parts were recorded in japan, australia, paris and israel) suite of heavy minimalist/maximalist music, black/death metal and drone. the culmination of these efforts become the music, literally, of sadistik exekution meeting phill niblock. gravetemple clearly adapted the more abstract and experimental aspects related to sunn o))) and have continued from that point, with ongoing focus on metaphysical construction of free music and will. the music became a geographically and metaphysically-based effort.
*gruppo di improvvisazione nuova consonanza – musica su schemi – suprior viaduct – lp
- in the early 1970s, franco evangelisti assembled gruppo di improvvisazione nuova consonanza, a collective of italian composers that included ennio morricone on trumpet. gruppo aspired to revolutionize composition through group improvisation and-like their peer, karlheinz stockhausen-musique concrete, aleatory (controlled chance) techniques and early electronic music. one significant influence in the studio was their use of chess to define key parameters of their music. musica su schemi is unpredictable, fluid and always marked by a tension between the performers and their conscious rejection of traditional forms. each member of gruppo would establish themselves as important figures in 20th century music, though no others gained the notoriety of morricone. nonetheless, gruppo’s influence on modern composition endures. as composer / saxophonist john zorn explains, “[they] were instrumental in founding a radical tradition of western musical improvisation that owed little or nothing to anybody and created some of the strangest music ever made.”
*keiji haino/jim o’rourke/oren ambarchi – now while it’s still warm let us pour in all the mystery – black truffle – lp
- “following on from 2012′s acclaimed imikizushi, now while it’s still warm let us pour in all the mystery is the fourth release from the established power trio of keiji haino, jim o’rourke, and oren ambarchi, recorded in january 2012 at their yearly concert at super deluxe, tokyo. while the trio’s two previous double lp releases featured sprawling, side-long performances, the music here is presented in six shorter pieces, each one displaying a different side of the trio’s interactions, from holy minimalism to cave-man rock. the record begins with the trio joined by special guests charlemagne palestine and eiko ishibashi, conjuring ghostly tones from wine glasses as an accompaniment to haino’s angelic vocals. this 10-minute piece, which moves from near silence and the sound of onstage footsteps to a stunning passage of clean guitar work from haino, is steeped in the same mysterious atmospherics as haino’s great folk-drone project, nijumu. when haino turns to the flute on the lp’s second track, a performance that clearly demonstrates the importance of the special concept of space and silence (ma) that haino has developed from traditional japanese aesthetics, o’rourke and ambarchi transform into the delicate and probing rhythm section of a classic ’70s fusion side. when the trio returns to the crushing free-rock of their last two records, o’rourke’s heavily effected bass rolling alongside ambarchi’s tumbling rhythms as haino’s guitar squeals and slashes above them, their performances display a new purposefulness and concision. now truly operating as a band after a number of years of playing together, the pieces here feel like instant rocks songs — o’rourke and ambarchi instantly locking into solid riffs over which haino alternates between jarring no-wave chords, intense soloing and his signature vocalizations. when the trio slow down and stretch out, the rhythm section plods like an abstracted crazy horse on the brink of collapse, and haino elicits long, mournful solos reminiscent of the first classic fushitsusha double live lp. perhaps more accessible than the trio’s previous recordings because of its range and concision, now while it’s still warm… exudes the dark, alien quality of haino’s greatest recordings and testifies to the strength of the musical bond that has developed between these three players. –francis plagne, jan 2013.”
xander harris – new dark age of love – not not fun – lp
- the past two years have found austin’s dark lord xander harris (aka justin sweatt) on a heavy transfigurative trip, overhauling his live rig, detouring through an expansive soundtrack project celebrating the 20th anniversary of neal stephenson’s snow crash, touring outside texas (from new orleans to the netherlands), plus a host of other inner-life turmoils and metamorphoses-all of which have seeped into the synthesizer soil of his stunning second full-length, the new dark age of love. from the first shimmering hovercraft tones that kick off album opener “night fortress,” the growth is glaring; gone is the slasher camp and horror tropes of urban gothic, replaced by sleek, streamlined post-industrial cold-wave dystopias. a ballardian mood of paranoia, doom and technocratic elegance reigns, from icy, sci-fi night-drives to sweeping cyber-gothic dread symphonies; even the few forays into overt vhs splatter-score worship are executed with a similar sense of future-shocked metropolitan menace. echoes abound of classic chris & cosey urban wasteland synth-pop, umberto’s vintage evil, and klaus schulze at his most candlelit and crowleyian, but the new dark age of love is unquestionably sweatt’s story to tell, and it’s a tome.
*the haxan cloak – excavation – tri angle – lp
- in 2011 with the release of his debut, the haxan cloak, solo project of multi instrumentalist, bobby krlic, appeared seemingly out of nowhere with an impressively fully formed sound that blew away most anyone who heard it. recorded over the space of 3 years the haxan cloak was a wildly ambitious fusion of malevolent strings, junkyard found-sounds and primitive percussion, krlic’s grand ambitions transcending the fact that it was all recorded in a shed at the bottom of krlic’s parent’s home in wakefield, yorkshire. in the two years since the release of his debut, krlic relocated to London and began working on it’s epic follow up, and tri angle records debut, excavation. bolstered by the concept he was developing for his follow up and a desire to challenge himself into new terrains, krlic has evolved his sound to incorporate more of his electronic influences. the result is an album awash with serrated beats and cavernous sub-bass, meshing with the classical drones and ghostly details the haxan cloak fans will have already been accustomed to. excavation finds krlic confidently adopting a more minimalist approach to his compositions, experimenting with space and silence without forsaking any of the intensity that made his debut such a powerful statement of intent. if the haxan cloak was conceived as the soundtrack to a character’s journey towards death, excavation is its sequel representing the journey after death. excavation is about disconnecting entirely from this and entering upon a more astral plane, explaining some of the albums more ethereal, ambient moments that are in constant tension with jagged and aggressive elements. this journey isn’t supposed to represent an archetypal heaven or hell scenario, but something more abstract and unknowable; the abstraction of the situation being one of its most unsettling aspects. excavation is another uncompromising, incredibly personal record from an artist who is continuing to operate very much within his own world.
iron & wine – ghost on ghost – nonesuch – lp+cd/cd
- ghost on ghost is the fifth release from singer-songwriter sam beam, using the pen name iron and wine. ghost on ghost was produced by beam’s longtime associate brian deck (modest mouse, califone, fruit bats) and follows 2011’s kiss each other clean, which debuted at #2 on the billboard chart to critical acclaim. rolling stone said of kiss each other clean that “pop music hadn’t seen anything like it since the heyday of cat stevens,” while pitchfork said it “more closely resembles the lush, gold-toned singer songwriter records of the late 60s and early 70s – astral weeks, goodbye yellow brick road.” for ghost on ghost, beam sought to move from what he called the ‘anxious tension’ of his two previous records. “this record felt like a reward to myself after the way i went about making the last few,” he says. helping achieve beam’s vision was a group of stellar musicians including rob burger, steve bernstein, brian blade, curtis fowlkes, tony garnier, marika hughes, briggan kraus, maxim moston, tony scherr, doug wieselman, kenny wolleson, and anja wood. burger (tin hat trio) has worked with beam intermittently through the years and handled arrangements for strings and horns on ghost on ghost.
*paul metzger – tombeaux – nero’s neptune – lp
- tombeaux, the much-anticipated new album from paul metzger, marks our alchemist’s third appearance on nero’s neptune, following critically-acclaimed contributions to labels like locust and honest jon’s. metzger summons the spirits of musical appalachian forefathers, guitarist django reinhardt and classical sitarist nikhil banerjee, among others, weaving a peerless, highly individualistic music that sounds unlike anyone but himself. metzger’s playing doesn’t imitate raga structures so much as use those modal figures as a starting point. he employs dazzling, breviloquent string-plucks on the main banjo strings, while producing rhythmic, droning textures on the cross-strings of an added bridge. some have suggested similarities to the works of john fahey or sandy bull, but metzger’s modus operandi doesn’t constitute a mirroring of those styles; rather, he composes and operates apart from their music, in an insular and altogether separate universe. in the process, metzger transcends and expands the lexicon in a wholly organic manner.
milk music – cruise your illusion – milk music – lp
- combining the driving hooks of the wipers, slashing riffs of husker du, and melodic-on-the-edge-of-control vocals of early dinosaur Jr., milk music reinvent early- to mid-’80s sst-style hardcore punk and ’90s lo-fi pacific northwest influences for a new generation. formed in olympia, washington, the band is comprised of singer/guitarist alex coxen, drummer (and coxen’s brother) joe rutter, guitarist charles warring and bassist dave harris. a self-titled, self-released cassette offered in 2009 introduced listeners to their anthemic, thrashing sound, followed a year later by the beyond living ep, which found a wider release in 2011 with the perennial label. all the familiar elements slightly borrowed from the above references are here but they’ve added some atmospheric fuzz-jams reminescent of neil young & crazy horse. singer alex coxen sounds as blazed as he does disenchanted with with all things rule oriented.
*daphne oram – oramics – young americans – 4lp
- 2013 repress, originally released in 2010. young americans is a new label operating under the modern love umbrella, proud to present an extremely special vinyl pressing of some of the most important early electronic music ever made. daphne oram was the founder of the bbc radiophonic workshop, a department she more or less single-handedly created in 1958, camping out at the bbc studios for nights on end splicing tapes and working with various modified machines to create her abstract soundscapes. eventually the bbc bent under her pressure and in studio 13 created the soon-to-be-legendary radiophonic workshop, with daphne oram as its first director. oram also invented her own “drawn-sound” technique, a process whereby strips of 35mm film would be manipulated before being fed into her home-made “oramics” machine which would convert and “read” the film into sound. despite her considerable and historic list of achievements, oram’s life and work remain largely unknown by the wider public. as this remarkable 44-track collection shows, however, her work ranks amongst the most varied and pioneering ever made, and it’s quite incredible to think that this is the first time any of these precious recordings have been available on vinyl.

thee oh sees – floating coffin – castle face – lp
- a brandy-new full length from the tour sharpened oh sees, featuring the louder, grungier, synth-meltier sound they’ve been bludgeoning audiences with lately. this newest chapter in the story of thee oh sees, show the band fixing their fury against the onrushing night. it’s another blistering demonstration of thee oh sees greatest trick: they’re the only prolific band who doesn’t put out records often enough. featuring terrifying artwork from matt brinkman and john dwyer.
*bill orcutt/chris corsano – the raw and the cooked – palilalia – lp
- gatefold sleeve. recordings from the tour last summer (2012). ex-harry pussy guitarist with the percussion monster, chris corsano!
*bill orcutt – a king of something – palilalia – 7″
- small restock of this limited tour-only 7″, originally released in 2011. ‘a king or something’/'crossroads’/'the man in the mirror’ b/w ‘sad michael’/'solitary habits’/'die then come back to life.’
pere ubu – live at the longhorn — april 1, 1978 – nero’s neptune – 2lp
- the three vinyl sides of pere ubu live at the longhorn are as much an indispensable live rock album as modern dance is an indispensable studio album. the show consists mainly of material from the modern dance album, only rocked out and swinging, more raw-nerved yet seasoned than their studio counterparts. what becomes apparent, especially on repeated listens, is how well-made this music is, how the drama and comedy flows within the modules of each song, how the songs fit together to give an audience an experience that — while sharpened to paranoia and sensitive to harsh realities — is as ineffable as it is concrete.
physics – spectramorphic iridescence – digitalis – lp
- resident los angeles android, [physics] unveils his debut lp spectramorphic iridescence for the digitalis label. glazed electronics and polymorphic beats run through wetware enhancements left behind by future civilizations. even with the neuron-popping hooks from opener “anodyne dream” or the crystalline “isosceles trapezoid” acting like sandman for your brain, there’s a dark undercurrent running throughout spectramorphic iridescence. death-march rhythms snake through “emerald forest,” adding an extra sinister layer to all the cryptic stabs. as it bleeds deftly into “the keep,” it’s the ghost trapped in the machine, tortured into obsolescence. [physics] continues pounding the electricity, waiting for the last voice to drown beneath the bloated, cybernetic waves. moments of sonic ecstasy filter in when they can, though, finding heavy tranquility cycles with “realization” and album closer, “ultimate l.” its over-the-top, sugary synthetics laced with all aural opiates you need. “ultimate l,” especially, achieves maximal catharsis through countless layers of slowly-evolving tones. [physics] have crafted an album steeped in cyberpunk lore, complete with neon death rays and jacked-in viruses. spectramorphic iridescenceweaves a singular narrative through thoughtful sequencing and impressive songwriting. before the end it manages to sing its dystopian hymns like a mythic artificial intelligence finally freed from its vr prison.
portal – vexovoid – profound lore – lp
- no death metal band in the history of the genre is as bizarre, unique and aesthetically engaging as australia’s portal. unfolding a singular vision through polarizing music, distinct imagery and otherworldly live shows, portal has slowly set a new standard within the underground over the course of a decade-indeed, giving a new meaning to the term “death metal” itself. the band has spread their sonic plague via three full-length albums to date, the last of which, 2009′s swarth, brought them their highest level of recognition and praise yet. portal’s surreal psychosis sounds like a lovecraftian nightmare manifested; weird rhythms and perplexing musical structures twist together in a cinematic soundscape of sheer terror and madness. vexovoid takes their artistry to new levels, delivering their biggest and most dense sounding album of their career. comprised of seven harrowing tracks, it proves once again why portal is the harbinger of the coming new dreadful age of death metal.

*rainforest spiritual enslavement – black magic cannot cross water – blackest ever black – lp
- blackest ever black presents the first vinyl pressing of music by rainforest spiritual enslavement. two long-form, minimal synth/dark ambient compositions with field recordings. sourced from a box of cassettes found at a market in port moresby, it was thought to be recorded by a group of christian missionaries prior to their unexplained disappearance during the 1980s. limited edition of 500 copies only.
*colin stetson – new history warfare vol 3: to see more light – constellation – 2lp
- colin stetson established himself as an intensely original solo composer and performer in 2011 with the release of the widely acclaimed new history warfare vol. 2: judges. judges ended up on countless year-end lists and emphatically proved that stetson’s approach to solo saxophone transcends niche or genre; a unique and emotionally resonant instrumental music with influences as wide-ranging as jazz, metal, pop, soul, drone, industrial, minimalism, electro-acoustic and modern contemporary. remarkably, stetson channels these manifold musical strains into a singularly identifiable and personal sound as a polyphonic soloist who doesn’t rely on looping/layering or multitrack/overdubs technologies. new history warfare vol. 3: to see more light is the final installment in a trilogy of solo albums and is stetson’s most ambitious song cycle to date, again recorded live in single takes with a wide array of microphone positions and again mixed by groundbreaking producer ben frost. colin’s membership in bon iver over the past two years has also led to vocal contributions from justin vernon for this record, who appears on four songs, with a diverse approach on each, and whose voice constitutes the only overdubbing on the album. the new record’s 15-minute centerpiece, title track “to see more light,” is the longest piece stetson has yet recorded and possibly the heaviest: a tour de force of swirling arpeggiation, continuous breathing, pumping valves and vocalizations through the reed of the horn that gives way to a tremendous, screaming, sea-sawing dirge through the song’s final movement. this latter stretch conjures a sort of saxophonic sludge metal, and the album’s heaviosity references other sub-genres of metal as well, most notably in the hardcore blast of “brute” (abetted by vernon’s cookie monster barking) and the ambient grindcore throb of “hunted.”
*mark templeton – jealous heart – under the spire – lp
- mark templeton presents jealous heart, an album which re-imagines the story of his sound in an approach that is both staid and deeply emotional, reorienting what is offered and what is held back through a myriad of smeared stringed instruments, fragmented horn phrases, tape loops, and found-sound-driven explorations. templeton’s music is always difficult to truly classify, which is part of its charm. it is way too dense and detailed to qualify as ambient in a traditional sense — instead developing itself into a highly organized, spacious clutter. it is electro-acoustic music that harkens to tape machines and misused instruments of yesteryear, viewed whole-heartedly through the prism of ultramodernity, of an awareness of what has transpired in-between. filled with subtly processed horns that recall a jazz club under the sea, a speakeasy of a future past blanketed in a detailed haze that allows one to find an individual path through it — a precise murkiness, where objects coalesce in the background while the focus stays predominantly on the instrumental underpinnings of each track. at times the album holds a sense of longing, of days past or imagined to be, but cloaked in hopefulness, of a consistent sense of working through an idea, an experience, a sound source — wringing something constructive out of it and re-forming it into something better. warm and textured is a given with templeton’s work. this album is similarly so, but with a layer of knowingness, an awareness that warmth is not enough. there is a pervasive sense of age, a feeling of it being an older object than it actually is, almost as if it was found on a forgotten shelf, yet had sensibilities that won’t exist until tomorrow. the landscape becomes one where the album manages to be constantly moving while presenting the listener with a sense of stillness, a balancing act that is incredibly difficult to get right.
umberto – confrontations – not not fun – lp
       - kansas city’s goblin king of neo-giallo, brood-blooded dark fantasy soundtracking returns with his fourth official full-length, two years after the badass psychodrama of prophecy of the black widow. the time betwixt was well spent, on tours, one-off tapes and 12-inches, and tweaking the mixes and minutia of the seven undead invasion omens comprising confrontations. what instantly distinguishes this new album from the previous is its ominous, slow burn composititional model, building its evil temple brick by brick, basking in the tension of each new chiming, carpenter-esque synth line or monkish doom om for multiple measures before stirring the next substance into the cauldron. this elegant sense of patience gives the tracks a more oozing, operatic aura; these confrontations aren’t hostile showdowns in the woods but the creeping dread of alien-nation body snatchers infiltrating the populace. death comes slipping. can someone hire this genius to score the they live remake already?
velvet underground – at the end of cole ave., the first night – keyhole – 2lp
       - the velvet underground were arguably at their live peak in late 1969. lou reed, sterling morrison, maureen tucker and doug yule (who’d replaced john cale a full year previously) had developed into a sensationally tight and adventurous quartet, and this show — the first of two recorded on consecutive nights before a tiny audience in dallas, texas — is unquestionably one of the finest surviving documents of them in performance. remastered sound and background notes included on printed insert.
wanda group – piss fell out like sunlight – opal tapes – lp
       - wanda group is the brighton-based louis johnstone, whose prolific output for labels like astro:dynamics, nna tapes, and leaving makes him one of the most intriguing voices in contemporary electronic music. johnstone’s recent discography is best understood as a process of refinement: the more overt sampledelia of 2010′s caveman smackunder the dem hunger alias has been gradually distilled until only the barely-there remnants of damage and decay remain. with that arc in mind, the excellently-titled piss fell out like sunlight for opal tapes is perhaps the producer’s subtlest, gauziest work yet. johnstone assembles these two side-length tracks out of large building blocks: 30 seconds or a minute of a single idea, each cross-faded into the next, moments recurring multiple times or bookending others to form oblique poetic sentences. the results function like a particularly cryptic, labyrinthine mini-mixtape. within that, dance forms occasionally come under scrutiny: early in “her stomach on terror” we’re treated to a baleful techno throb over which reedy synths chirrup restlessly; later on, a hard-edged, andy stott-esque thump holds sway for a minute or so. the latter half of “pans out in the afterlife” is dominated by a desiccated hulk of a kick drum, dreamy detroit pads wheeling overhead. but johnstone’s relationship to the current crop of noise-techno fusionists is only passing; mostly this is an album of weightless moments: delicate washes of electrical hum, amplified grit in the wires, burbling synth clusters and stringently buried melodies. what’s remarkable is the pathos that johnstone wrings from these most microscopic of sonic phenomena.
wold – freermasonry – ideologic organ – 2lp
       - statement from the wold communiqué sent out following the completion of freermasonry: “lyrically freermasonry consists of a series of poems and discourses. early on in freermasonry during ‘sol,’ the mother allusion is referenced out of faust part two. it’s a small portion and short moment. faust does an invocation to the mothers, but the execution is as trickery through occult charlatanism and not truly believed ritual. goethe found passages about dark goddess figures known as mothers in the writings of plutarch. the metaphor is ambiguous, generally associated with creative dark force and will, but reared in a potent lie. i use it in correlation with screech owl as atheistic reactionary sentiment. of course there are many other aspects to freermasonry.” –fortress crookedjaw ”this is all to say that freermasonry — the obliterative sixth album from wold, the saskatchewan act led by the incredibly named fortress crookedjaw — is ultimately enigmatic and entirely unknowable, an intersection of noise, metal, and electronics that doesn’t yield to such plainclothes criticism. mean, dense and multivalent, with a lyrical conceit based on masonic symbolism and biblical scripture, it’s the rare loud music that begs to be louder still if you’re to have any chance of understanding it. freermasonry is a case study in controlling the illusion of chaos, an elegantly constructed nightmare of sound where hearing one layer of serrated screams, static bursts, and feedback flares means you’ve missed some mass of activity somewhere else. weirdly seductive rhythms tumble beneath a laundromat of blown-out tones and crackling vocals, generally pulling your attention a dozen different ways. i’ve been listening to the album consistently for three months now, and somehow, i’m still surprised by what its 58 minutes sound like and accomplish. paradoxically disorienting and direct, freermasonry is a constant tumult of surprising activity, more unforgiving than most everything in the noise, metal, and drone scenes, places where wold kind of fits.” –grayson currin, pitchfork (8.3)
various – harafin so – bollywood inspired film music from hausa nigeria – sahel sounds – lp
       - first-ever international release of film soundtrack tunes from northern nigeria — where the film industry is modeled on bollywood. autotuned robotic vocals combine with frenetic drum machines and pitch-bending synths for a singular hybrid of local styles and indian influence. featuring smash hits by hausa superstars fati niger, abubakar sani, and the exuberant sani danja. limited edition of 1,000 copies. includes insert with liner notes.

…..restocks…..

*ash ra tempel – s/t – mgart – cd
calexico – spiritoso – anti – lp
the clash – s/t – music on vinyl – lp
coloured balls – ball power – sing sing – lp
cramps – psychedelic jungle – vinylisssimo – lp
*destroyer – this night – merge – lp
*dust – s/t/hard attack – sony – 2lp
*brian eno – discreet music – editions eg – lp
flaming lips – zaireeka – warner – 4lp
fleet foxes – helplessness blues – sub pop – lp
foxy gen – we are the 21st century.. – jagjaguwar – lp
ghostface killah – 12 reasons to die – soul temple – lp
gong – est quoi mort – celluloid – 2lp
*ilaiyaraaja – fire star – bombay connection – lp
*les rallizes denudes – great white wonder – phoenix – 4lp
madvillain – madvillainy – stones throw – lp
*stephen malkmus & friends – can’s ege bamyasi – matador – lp
*medsusa – first step beyond – numero – lp
postal service – give up – sub pop – 3lp
pretty – mustache – numero – 2×7″
*laurie spiegel – expanding universe – unseen worlds – 2cd
chad van gaalen – diaper island – flemish eye – lp
*various – the conet project: recordings of shortwave numbers stations – irdial – 5cd
various – good god! a gospel funk hymnal – numero – lp
*various – brand new wayo – comb & razor – lp
various – minimal wave tapes 2 – stones throw – lp
*various – sorrow come pass… – dust to digital – lp

thanks for listening….

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
www.facebook.com/listenrecords
twitter/instagram: @listenrecords

Setlist:
Luminol
Drive Home
The Pin Drop
Postcard
The Holy Drinker
Deform to Form a Star
The Watchmaker
Index
Insurgentes
Harmony Korine
No Part of Me
Raider II
The Raven That Refused to Sing

Encore:
Medley: Remainder the Black Dog/No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun

As my readers will not have failed to notice, my love affair with music – especially progressive rock – has cooled down considerably over the past few months. A combination of personal issues and the inevitable burnout caused by the punishing pace maintained for over three years forced me to take a break after I realized that writing reviews had become a chore. Though I had previously experienced periods of writer’s block, this time around it had impaired my enjoyment of music to the point that I was dreading, rather than anticipating, the evening of April 20, when the celebrated Steven Wilson and his “all-star” band were slated to grace the stage of Washington DC’s historic Howard Theatre. I will therefore apologize if this piece is more of a collection of personal impressions than my usual detailed account.

Most of my readers are well aware that – while recognizing the man’s talent and unstinting work ethic – I have never subscribed to the Steven Wilson cult, and most of his output (whether solo or with his many projects, including Porcupine Tree) has always failed to fully resonate with me. Though I had meant to get Wilson’s latest opus, the highly acclaimed The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) to familiarize myself with the material before the show, my disenchantment with music (coupled with other, unrelated issues) prevented me from doing so, and I went in expecting to be somewhat underwhelmed. However, I am glad to say that the concert vastly exceeded my expectations, and I walked out of the theatre with a renewed appreciation for music of the progressive persuasion, even if not yet fully converted to the “Wilson cult”.

Mainly known as a temple of jazz and soul music, the renovated Howard Theatre (opened in 1910, but gone into a decline that forced it to close for decades after the 1968 riots) has already hosted a number of rock concerts since its 2012 rebirth. While its stylish, dimly lit interior does not allow for a lot of socialization, and its bar and restaurant menu are not exactly good value for money, the theatre’s superb acoustics, state-of-the-art lighting and spacious stage are designed to enhance any music performed there. What better setting, then, for über-perfectionist Steven Wilson, the high priest of pristine sound quality, the man behind a slew of 5.1 reissues of progressive rock classics?

I am generally rather suspicious of supergroups, which can often be a triumph of style over substance, and the all-star cast assembled by Wilson for his latest album and tour brought back memories of Eddie Jobson’s Ultimate Zero Project’ rather sterile headlining performance at NEARfest 2010. In spite of being prepared for the worst – that is, an ultimately soulless display of technical fireworks – the opening strains of “Luminol” put my fears to rest, immediately pushing  Nick Beggs’ impossibly nimble bass lines and Marco Minnemann’s thunderous yet intricate drumming into the limelight, though at the same time emphasizing their contribution to the  composition as a whole Indeed, the extremely tight outfit allowed very little room for solo spots, and each of the musicians put his own considerable expertise at the service of the songs.

In the centre of the stage, slight and dressed in black, the obligatorily barefoot Wilson, flanked by Beggs and guitarist Guthrie Govan,  switched between guitar, keyboards and 5-string bass, with Minnemann, keyboardist Adam Holzman and reedist Theo Travis positioned at the back. Though I fully expected Govan to launch into lengthy shred-fests, his understated role was undoubtedly one of the show’s most positive surprises. In spite of his standard guitar-hero image (complete with flowing locks and the occasional shape-throwing), his performance was remarkably restrained, his trademark scorching fretboard work delivered on rare occasions, such as at the end of “Drive Home”. The impassive Theo Travis’ blaring saxophone injected a jazzy, almost frantic  note, while his flute’s meditative tones complemented some of the more subdued passages. Adam Holtzman’s magnificent keyboard textures laid out a rich foundation, in turn atmospheric and dramatic, according to the needs of each composition.

Over nearly 2 and a half hours,  Wilson’s latest album was performed in its entirety, the seven songs interspersed with tracks from the artist’s two previous solo efforts, Insurgentes (2008) and Grace for Drowning (2011) – with no references whatsoever to Porcupine Tree, who seem to have been put on ice for the time being. While this might be bad news for the band’s many fans, I feel that The Raven That Refused to Sing features much stronger material than most of PT’s albums from In Absentia onwards. Indeed, in Wilson’s solo output any overt metal or alternative rock references are eschewed or toned down, though a keen edge is always lurking around the corner. Even in the longer compositions, any excesses are reined in by keeping the emphasis firmly placed on the songwriting. Drawing upon the wide range of diverse experiences of his band members – jazz, avant-garde, metal, pop, classic rock and, of course, “traditional” prog – Wilson as a solo artist has built a sound in which his very vocals become an additional instrument, with lyrics kept to a minimum taking a back seat to the music. The unrelentingly gloomy subject matter (cleverly targeted by Wilson’s surprisingly laid-back stage banter) is reinforced by a skillful use of visuals that develops and refines Pink Floyd’s ground-breaking paradigm, conjuring disquieting, often nightmarish images out of an H.P. Lovecraft story (in particular the ones accompanying “Harmony Korine”), and proves a necessary complement to the music.

While Wilson’s music is not exactly innovative (and very little of what is released nowadays can be called so), he succeeds in the feat of updating the classic prog sound, using King Crimson, Yes and Genesis as a springboard rather than as a template. Veering between the brooding, haunting atmosphere of the likes of “Drive Home” or “Deform to Form a Star” and jagged, frantic-paced moments in which all the instruments strive together to build up an increasing sense of tension, his compositions sound as carefully structured as any of the Seventies classics, though not as blatantly contrived as a lot of modern prog. From a personal point of view, I found those driving, dynamic pieces far more involving and emotionally charged than the quieter, moodier ones, which tended to sound somewhat alike after a while. In a show characterized by a consistently high level of quality, two songs stood out: the creepy, chilling “Raider II” (from Grace for Drowning) and the mesmerizing “The Watchmaker”, during which the band played behind a semi-sheer curtain used as a screen for the stunning visuals.

Considering Wilson’s tireless activity as a producer and sound engineer, it was a fortunate coincidence that April 20 also celebrates a cherished institution that is stubbornly resisting the encroachment of online sales – record stores. Not surprisingly, the venue was packed, with many far younger attendees than the average prog gig or festival – a testimony to Wilson’s appeal to a large cross-section of the concert-going, music-buying public, even to those who are not necessarily into “progressive rock”. Watching the crowd, and reflecting on the poor attendance of most prog shows, I thought that Steven Wilson must be doing something right in order to attract such large numbers, even if his band (no matter how talented) does not include any of the Seventies icons, and his performances showcase very recent original material rather than the ever-popular tributes and covers. Moreover (and rather ironically), now that he has stopped rejecting the “prog” tag  and fully embraced the genre, his music has gained in appeal. Not being a PR expert, I have no ready explanation for this phenomenon, but I am sure there must be a lesson somewhere for the multitude of prog bands that struggle to draw a crowd larger than 30 people.

Even if I cannot see myself resuming the same pace of the past couple of years as regards writing reviews – at least not in the foreseeable future – I am grateful to Steven Wilson and his outstanding crew for showing me that music can still have an important role in my life as a source of enjoyment. By way of a conclusion, I would like to thank friends Michael Inman and Helaine Carson Burch for putting some of their outstanding photographs at my disposal for this article.

Well, not everyone likes perfection. Flaws give cherished items personality and identity. We personally like a little snap, crackle and pop when listening to jazz and blues. It adds to the history and depth of the sound. Events such as Record Store Day that take place in smaller record stores have been strongly supported by music artists themselves which has added to the popularity of vinyl records. Some artists release tracks on vinyl to help out indie labels and stores as a means of appreciation and support for small businesses and fans.

This is how many feel with regard to books as well. Although some large chain stores such as Borders have closed their doors, Amazon and Kindles still rule the book world, which has a negative impact on smaller book stores as expected. However, some collectors are predicting that rare books are making a comeback, just as vinyl LP records did. There is also an emergence of antiquarian book fairs all over the country. Do you feel as though rare books will become the “New Vinyl”?

Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.

SONG OF THE DAY – ANGELS – THE XX
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – OUT OF MY LEAGUE – FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS

OLD SCHOOL SEGMENT

Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Liam Gallagher: ‘I might reunite Oasis for $30m’

Little Heaven – Toad the Wet Sprocket

LOCAL MUSIC SEGMENT

Smile In The Darkness – The Great Pattern

Paper Weight – Giantist

Walking 28 – Baby Made Rebel

NEW, NEWER SEGMENT

Tegan and Sara release the music video for “I Was A Fool” off their album Heartthrob.

David Bowie films latest video for his 3rd single off of The Next Day in New York with a cameo by Gary Oldman

TRACK LIST

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This year I’m celebrating Record Store Day in Firenze, Italy. On Saturday, 20th of April, I went to several Record Store in Firenze to see and join the celebration. I went to three store, Danex Records, Data Records 93, and Rock Bottom Records. There is more record store in the city but I only had time to came into these three stores. It was not really crowded as I expected before. But they do sell special vinyl for record store day and give special discount only for that day.

And this what I got from that day.

But unfortunately I don’t have a turntable here in Italy. So, If there’s anyone that knows where to get a used or unexpensive record player, I will be very happy to get the information.

Ciao!

]]> http://fathomdj.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/tonight-and-the-difference/ Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:03:33 +0000 fathom dj / music stylist http://fathomdj.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/tonight-and-the-difference/ Good drinks, an intimate setting with a great decor and music to compliment. focused on professional people who value and appreciate artful things. There are very few venues that are concerned about maintaining a specific presence and energy. The thirst for numbers has subjected the dj, mixologists (bartenders), and other staff to engage a “club patron” which may not understand the concept of “taste making”. Lounges and clubs are quite different or at least used to be.

The question becomes what type of experience do you want to have?

top shelf tasting mix..click and indulge ..

By now you all know how I feel about Record Store Day, so I’m not gonna beat a dead horse. I believe that every day is record store day, but this new annual event can not be denied. In fact, besides the exclusive vinyl that comes out of it, there are a lot of cool events, and mixes that have been sprouting up. This year DJ Chorizo Funk and DJ Chicken George hollered at Flea Market Funk with an all vinyl mix they made especially for the occasion. Now I’ll take a decent mix any day, and the fact that it coincided with RSD is just how it goes. Both of these DJs are top notch DJs and diggers who have been at it for some time. This particular mix has some classic bangers you may know, and some newere tunes you should know about. So here’s some goodness from Texas, and really everything is bigger and better in Texas, including this all vinyl mix. Here’s what they had to say about it:

“Special collaboration with Mr. Jazztronica himself, DJ Chicken George, to celebrate Record Store Day 2013.

I went with all 45′s and CG had a mix of 12 inches and 45′s.

Support Vinyl Culture!”-DJ Chorizo Funk

I couldn’t agree more here at Flea Market Funk. When you buy records from your local record shop all year round, they stay in business. Vinyl may have faded but it never went away. Support your local, independent record shop, and you will get music out of it like this mix.

DJs Chorizo Funk & Chicken George – Record Store Day 2013 Vinyl Mix

DJ Chorizo Funk Mix

1. James Brown – Please Please Please
2. Wendy Rene – After the Laughter
3. The Lovin’ Kind – Afro Soul
4. Tito Ramos – Love
5. Joe Quarterman & Free Souls – The Way They Do My Life
6. Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson – It’s Your World
7. Antibalas – It’s a Family Affair
8. Nolan – I Like What You Give
9. Bobby Hebb – Sunny
10. Les McCann – Sunny
11. Olympia Brass Band – It Ain’t My Fault
12. Blue Rhythm Combo – Black Water Gold

DJ Chicken George Mix

1. Dee Edwards – I Can Deal With That
2. Willie – Woman (Bazisbeats Re-edit)
3. The Original Black Sheep – In The Forest (Pt. 2)
4. Hodges, James, Smith & Crawford – Nobody
5. Jimmy Jones – Live and Let Live
6. Thunder & Lightening – Bumpin’ Bus Stop
7. Breakestra – Posed To Be feat. Chali 2NA & DJ Dusk
9. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Fire (Colm K Edit)
9. Funkshone – Purification Pt. 3 (Kenny Dope Remix)
10. Freqnik & WDRE – Favela B-Boy Funk
11. Little Francisco Greaves – Moving Grooving

Check out Chicken George here.

Check out Chorizo Funk here.

Keep Diggin’!

(This is the second post-Record Store Day open letter. To read the first, An Open Letter To The People Who Lined Up Outside BK Music On Record Store Day, click here.)

An Open Letter To The Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr Album That Made Me Bleed On Record Store Day

Edgar Allen Poe once said that “There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm.” I really like that, don’t you?

It reminds me — ironically, I suppose — of the breathlessness with which children tell stories they’re particularly excited about. Respiration and recitation crash into one another like waves headed in different directions, making for a bumpy, sometimes incoherent narrative — certainly not eloquence in the traditional sense. But within that crazy cadence, natural rhythms are hiding. Lungs working at full capacity. Synapses firing as fast as possible. Pitch rising at the end of each phrase. When you look closer, you find the body and spirit in perfect harmony, flowing as smoothly as ballroom dancers who have rehearsed every move they intend to make.

It’s just that type of enthusiasm I blame for our… incident.

Before going any further, I have to make one thing perfectly clear: it’s not your fault. You’re perfect. You’re just what I was hoping to find when I strolled into Plan 9 at around 10:30 on Saturday, when Record Store Day was in full swing. You also happened to be the very last copy of Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr’s Patterns EP Plan 9 had to offer. I didn’t end up seeing another all day long. Clearly, it was meant to be. We were meant to be.

So please, don’t feel guilty about the epic paper cut you gave me.

Honestly, who would have thought that a record jacket, a piece of cardboard as thick as several sheets of paper, could slice into human skin? I certainly wouldn’t have. Of course I was being naive. My years collecting vinyl have largely been spent with more elderly branches of your family tree — used records with jacket edges frayed by time and rough treatment. Shrink wrap is seldom involved. So when I got home on Saturday afternoon, beyond excited, visions of new Jr Jr tunes dancing in my head, I skipped the scissors and ran my index fingernail along your jacket’s eastern edge, opening up a sizable and surprisingly bloody cut at the base of that tiny divide between nail and finger.

Did it hurt like hell? Yes. Was I upset? Yes. I may have even yelled the last word of Bruce Willis’ catchphrase from the Die Hard franchise. I can’t remember for sure. (I was in pain!) But please understand, I wasn’t yelling at you. OK, so I was yelling while looking in your direction, but that’s all water under the bridge now — shrink wrap in the trash can — because you’ve been on the turntable almost every day since, accelerating the healing process by bringing four dynamite new songs into my living room. In fact, I’m beginning to think you’re Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr’s best release to date! For real! The Detroit duo who gave you life seem to be getting better and better, applying their gifts with ever-increasing complexity and depth while maintaining the sense of fun that drew me to them in the first place. The relative weightiness of “Dark Water” complements the exuberance of “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)” wonderfully, and “Hiding” may turn out to be my favorite Jr Jr song of all.

I know you’ve been harboring feelings of shame and remorse, but it was my own eagerness that got us into this mess, and as you can see, our run-in hasn’t soured me on the songs etched into your grooves. Not in the least. In fact, I’m going to post two of your songs below, so everyone can hear how great you are.

What d’ya say? We good? Good. See you on the turntable, buddy.

[Update: Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr's response via Facebook: "We are sorry and we are honored all at once. In a way we are now blood brothers, as ours went into making the record and yours is now on it." Love it.]

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr — “If You Didn’t See Me (You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)” [Spotify/iTunes]

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr — “Hiding” [Spotify/iTunes]

Check out tunes from the session: If Music’s 10th Birthday

Part 2 to follow shortly…

We just want to say a massive and heartfelt thank you to everyone who came along to our Record Store Day. The music was amazing, the people were amazing and you the punters were amazing. Thank you. Big respect also to Da Lata and William Adamson for their acoustic brilliance. Well done to every independent record store who took part. Stay strong.

@DaLataMusic @brownswood @recordstoreday @ifmusiconline