#richard pop vinyl
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The Rolling Stones: Steel Wheels (1989)
Rolling Stones Records
#my vinyl playlist#the rolling stones#mick jagger#keith richards#charlie watts#ronnie wood#bill wyman#rolling stones records#classic rock#blues rock#hard rock#80’s rock#pop rock#arena rock#record cover#album cover#album art#vinyl records
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Stuff I'm Looking Forward To in May
How is it already May? In addition to being Asian Pacific American Heritage Month as well as Orthodox Easter (5/5), Cinco de Mayo (5/5), Mother's Day (5/12) and Memorial Day (5/27) here is what's on my radar this month:
Movies:
The Idea of You
A Michael Showalter movie is always a highly anticipated for me. I was a huge fan of his comedy group The State and I named his film The Big Sick my #1 Movie of 2017. Since then his films have been mixed (including The Eyes of Tammy Faye) but they are always unique in their own way. His new one is a romantic drama with Anne Hathaway premiering on Amazon Prime Video on 5/2.
Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
When the first Star Wars prequel was released in May 1999, there was no way any movie could live up to the expectation. While it's not perfect by any means, it is better than people initially thought. I saw it a few times in the theater in 1999 (including opening day) and in 2012, I saw the 3-D re-release. Without the hype and fanfare it wasn't bad. There's been quite a few revisionist appraisals of Ep 1 in recent years. In addition to select theaters doing a Star Wars Eps 1-9 marathon, Ep 1 is getting a 25th anniversary re-release on 5/3.
Unfrosted
Jerry Seinfeld is a comic genius! Now he's making his directorial feature film debut with a comedy biopic about the creation of the Pop Tart in 1963. With Jerry directing, co-writing, producing and starring I'm on board! Premieres 5/3 on Netflix.
Let It Be
The 1970 documentary about The Beatles recording their final album has been out of print for years and now it has been remastered by Peter Jackson for a Disney+ streaming premiere on 5/8. Fingers crossed a blu-ray follows!
Back to Black
Amy Winehouse had such a short musical career, but her legacy lives on. After the excellent documentary Amy in 2015, she is now getting the music biopic treatment directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, the director of the criminally underrated Nowhere Boy about the early days of John Lennon. Opens 5/17.
IF
John Krasinski proved himself as a director with A Quiet Place. Now he is back with a fantasy about imaginary friends and it's one of those "everyone is in it" casts! Opens 5/17.
Hit Man
A Richard Linklater film is always a high film priority for me! His new action-comedy has been creating quite a buzz since its festival premiere last year. It's adapted from an article by Skip Hollandsworth and the last adaptation of his from Linklater was Bernie! Star and co-writer Glen Powell has worked with Linklater on Everybody Wants Some!! and Apollo 10 1/2. I could not be more psyched! Limited theatrical release on 5/24 and Netflix premiere on 6/7.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, the 4th Mad Max movie, set the bar pretty high for high octane action. Now George Miller is back with a prequel about Furiosa. Opens 5/24.
Music:
Aerosmith Get Your Wings 50th Anniversary Limited Edition
In March, Aerosmith's second album turned 50! To celebrate the anniversary they are releasing a special edition vinyl on 5/17!
Slash Orgy of the Damned
GN'R guitarist Slash is back with his sixth solo album featuring tons of guest stars including Brian Johnson and Steven Tyler doing blues covers. Album drops 5/17!
Ringo Starr Crooked Boy
Sir Ringo Starr has been on a roll knocking out tons of EPs including EP3 and Rewind Forward. Now he has his 5th EP since 2021 (my God - put all of these EPs together and it'd be a killer album!). This one was written and produced by Linda Perry. After an RSD and digital release last month, a physical release will be on 5/31 (review to come)!
Film Festivals:
Independent Film Festival Boston
My favorite film festival in Boston (and possibly the world) takes place at the best indie cinemas in Boston from May 1-8 (see my preview here).
In a category all its own:
My birthday is on 5/20!
#stuff i'm looking forward to#the idea of you#michael showalter#star wars episode i: the phantom menace#george lucas#unfrosted#jerry seinfeld#let it be#michael lindsay hogg#back to black#sam taylor johnson#if#john krasinski#hit man#richard linklater#furiosa: a mad max saga#george miller#aerosmith#slash#ringo starr#independent film festival boston#iffboston2024#film geek#music nerd#film festival
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297: I Giganti // Terra in bocca (Poesia di un delitto)
Terra in bocca (poesia di un delitto)
I Giganti
1971, Ri-Fi
Today was the day I think I finally turned heel as a record collector. There’s a cute little shop not far from my house that specializes in CDs, but has a modest used vinyl selection. Most of it is very basic fare (I’ve never seen so many Blood, Sweat & Tears records in one place in my damn life), but all priced like it’s ten years ago and the vinyl speculating bubble never happened. I ducked in for the first time last week, and after some assiduous digging plucked some outrageous gems: an original pressing of Junior Kimbrough’s All Night Long and a Canadian OP of Richard & Linda Thompson’s I See the Bright Lights Tonight! The first goddamn Exuma record for $11! I even found Roger Miller’s debut, a theoretically dirt common record that’s nonetheless eluded me for years. I walked out with easily $250 worth of squeaky-clean wax I actually wanted for less than $100.
But rather than just enjoying my good fortune, it set the blackly gleaming coils of avarice inside me into motion. I’d snagged a cool little compilation of Bengali playback songs by Aarti Mukherjee for $12 from their modest little Indian music section (a record I had to add to Discogs myself), and while grooving to it I decided to look up a couple of the others I remembered seeing there. That’s when I discovered the Lata Mangeshkar record I’d briefly considered at $15 last sold on Discogs for almost $380. Reader, I try to suppress my Jungian Deals for Deals’ Sake shadow, but through my father’s side of the family tree I’ve inherited a deep streak of flea market cretinism. I fear this situation has made it ascendant. The shop was closed the day I made my dark Discogs discovery, so I waited, slavering, for the following morning, whereupon I told my coworkers I had to walk a traveling friend’s dog and would pick up the hour at the end of my shift, and shambled to the store to see if my dusty prize was still there.
Portrait of the collector courtesy the Royal Arachnological Museum
I felt as though I were robbing the mom and pop shop as I clutched the LP to my chest, telling myself that at least their small selection of recent extreme metal records were neatly labeled with little post-it notes that indicated the shopkeep had compared his stock with Amazon’s algorithmically-deranged marketplace, but I knew I was only lying to myself. These poor sods didn’t know about Discogs. Only I did, and it had merely cost me a shred of my soul. I bought the Mangeshkar, and two Bengali records of unclear value, though one is autographed. And I bought this dorky Italo prog record reissue on blue vinyl that I have far less legitimate musical interest in than the Mangeshkar, purely because some Greek psychopath is trying to sell his copy for $300 US, and other pressings are starting at $75 and up. It’s a concept album about the Mafia that was so thoroughly censored by Italy’s corrupt media it was practically unknown till the ‘90s, which, as a backstory, objectively rocks. A lot of it sounds like Jesus Christ Superstar, which objectively sucks. I Giganti thank Karl Marx on the back of the sleeve but include a poem by the horny proto-fascist Gabriele D’Annunzio in the gatefold, who pioneered Mussolini’s tactic of haranguing crowds from his balcony window and in an unrelated incident later fell out of a window and hurt himself so badly he had to withdraw from politics, which is confusing. The album itself is… fine really, has some cool Mellotron, though I’d rather hear Goblin play The Godfather theme. Someday I will try to sell it for a profit, but if God is just the bubble will collapse before then and I’ll be entombed with it.
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297 reviews in, I am finally lost.
297/365
#i giganti#italian prog#progressive rock#greed#avarice#'70s music#unflattering self-portraiture#'70s prog#music review#vinyl record#this is so stupid#i am so stupid
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Revelons- ‘77- ‘82 (Hozac)
New-to-me classic, late 70's power pop rock gunk from this NYC bunch who never made it, but it's not from a lack of songs (they released one single on the Ork label in '79). The songs are flat-out terrific, I hear some Television-esque wired guitar workouts (and apparently Richard Lloyd played with them for a time) with cool caveman rhythms and the charismatic vocalist, Gregory Lee Pickard, who, at times, sits somewhere between Verlaine/Byrne to these ears.
Cuts like "Red Hot Woman," "Lover's Dilemma," "97 Tears" an the brilliant "White Elvis" are the real deal. Honestly I didn't hear anything that I didn't like in these 12 cuts.
This is the first time that this is on vinyl so kudos to the Hozac label (once again) for bringing this baby out to the people. Limited to 500 copies so don't delay, buy today!
www.hozacrecords.com
www.hozacrecords.bandcamp.com
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Pizzicato Five: the international playboy & playgirl record
25th anniversary
By 1998, Pizzicato Five had settled into the perfect groove: they had found their voice and niche as leading purveyors of the Japanese indie-pop/Shibuya-kei scene, were regularly releasing some of the most interesting and stylistically original music anywhere, and had also established their signature look, incorporating their love of 60s ye-ye, 70s funk, soul, and disco, and 90s hip-hop and house into the now iconic throwback looks ripped from the pages of Petticoat and Queen. This mid-90s period was their most fruitful, with almost one studio album released every year that decade (not to mention the countless remix and best-of compilations, and EPs) -- when genius burns, it positively scorches. At their height, right on the cusp of the end, they released the international playgirl & playboy record.
Pizzicato Five were one of the very rare and lucky Japanese groups to have a cult international following, with the indie label Matador distributing their music beginning with 1994's Five By Five and Made in USA, a compilation record, before finally doing the group justice enough to release albums mostly unchanged. Thus, the international playboy & playgirl record became, simply, Playboy & Playgirl for the U.S. release, coming out seven months after the original in the spring of 1999. By many hipsters' account, Shibuya-kei was mostly done by the late 90s, a hip trend taken to its logical dead-end with the number of copy-cat groups and zero-sum looting of obscure musical samples that rendered obsolete the special "insider's knowledge" of bragging rights that made the genre so fun. I can also see how some might think Yasuharu Konishi, the main writer, producer and one half of P5, with Maki Nomiya on vocals, was running out of ideas.
Certainly, the music on Playboy & Playgirl is some of their most commercial yet, tending towards a more standard J-pop sound with singles like "WEEKEND" and the title track "PLAYBOY PLAYGIRL." It's certainly some of their most lush, with the orchestral hints on previous album ROMANTIQUE '96 now making way for full string quartets and roiling brass popping up throughout the album like Burt Bacharach on caffeine. Along with the iconic jacket art, it's a very cinematic sound, the fulmination of Konishi's entire aesthetic now in its full, no-cost-spared production. It's absolutely gorgeous, and the fact that the focus shifted from showing off Konishi's esoteric musical influences to crafting actual masterpieces only made the music better and stronger on its own. Sure, you might be a more sophisticated listener for being able to name the James Taylor, Herb Pilhofer, and Richard de Bordeaux & Daniel Beretta samples, but even if you didn't recognize them, you could still enjoy the songs.
I don't want to ignore Maki Nomiya -- she may not have been the ultimate mastermind like Konishi, but you can hardly imagine P5's entire aesthetic without her. Besides being the face of the group, she has one of my favorite voices in Japanese music history. While she may not have the bold, endless range and gymnastic ability of what people in the West associate with great vocalists, like Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey, say, she has what I consider quintessential 90s J-pop vocals: light but steady, clipped and precise, smooth, and impeccably articulated. There's nothing immediately recognizable about it in the context of her J-pop contemporaries, but her voice is absolutely perfect for the type of music P5 did, and her essential presence enhances the warmth of their sound.
the international playboy & playgirl record was released in many different versions, and since this is my favorite P5 record, I finally own all of them. It was first released in Japan on the group's own Readymade label under Nippon Columbia in a slim DVD-sized cardboard box, as well as on 12" vinyl that included selections from the album, rather than the record in its entirety. It was also distributed on the indie label Matador in the US, which came in a digipak with a booklet featuring various photos, and the lyrics printed in the original romaji next to English translations. Many of the song titles are close or close-enough adaptations of the original Japanese titles, although the Matador version swaps out a track called "THE INTERNATIONAL PIZZICATO FIVE MANSION" for a track that doesn't appear on the original Japanese release, called "La Règle du jeu." This is most likely due to the fact that the former is a track composed almost entirely of inconsequential "background music" set to Japanese dialogue. "La Règle du jeu" was originally released in 1998 as a stand-alone single with "Atarashii Uta," or "New Song." Matador also released this album on 12" vinyl, featuring different cover art than the original Japanese vinyl version (which are all different from the CD version), as well as a slightly different song selection (it also includes the missing track “THE INTERNATIONAL PIZZICATO FIVE MANSION” not found on the Matador CD).
There are a lot of Pizzicato Five songs and albums that I really like, but for me, this album really captures the essence of the group at their most commercial, and therefore, most inclusive, best. ROMANTIQUE '96 and HAPPY END OF THE WORLD might have cooler samples, but it also rendered them a bit more exclusive and closed off to anyone without the requisite hours spent in the stacks memorizing long-forgotten jazz riffs of the 1960s. Playboy & Playgirl took the snobbery out of Shibuya-kei in a way that made anyone capable of appreciating its ornate Copperplate flourishes. That’s what makes pop music so great, and while that might have contributed to the genre’s and group’s eventual dissolution, I will never pass on the opportunity to hear a sound made more accessible by appealing to more common-denominator foundations, rather than less, as long as it's done respectfully and successfully. P5 made both approaches work, and here, still managed to retain their signature sound without succumbing to a loss of what made them so unique.
Happy 25th anniversary to the international playboy & playgirl record, one of the greatest albums of time.
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FUZZY HASKINS ‘RADIO ACTIVE’ (1978)
A co-founder of the P-Funk movement, Clarence Eugene “Fuzzy” Haskins was born in West Virginia in 1941 and started as a singer in the doo-wop vocal group The Parliaments, led by George Clinton in the late 1950s. He was a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC. Fuzzy Haskins toured and appeared on P-Funk albums as a singer, and occasionally as a guitarist, throughout the 1970s. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997.
Despite the success of Mothership Connection, Fuzzy Haskins was growing frustrated that his songs were no longer being featured on albums by Funkadelic and Parliament. He also watched as Bootsy Collins, a relative newcomer to the family, embarked upon a solo career. This added to Haskins’ frustration and at the height of P-Funk’s popularity, Fuzzy left the ensemble to pursue a solo career.
Fuzzy Haskins released two landmark solo albums on Westbound Records: ‘A Whole Nother Thang’ in 1976 and ‘Radio Active’ in 1978. With his brand of earthy & heavyweight funk, Fuzzy Haskins’ solo works fits right in with many of the other great P-Funk side projects and was sampled by renowned artists and acts from the likes of Prince, The Prodigy, N.W.A and Fatboy Slim.
On the album we are presenting you today (Radio Active from 1978) you’ll find eight sublime tracks written (or co-written) by Mr. Haskins himself and recorded by Richard Becker at the legendary PAC 3 Recording Studios in Dearborn, Michigan where classic albums from Norman Feels and Dennis Coffey were born. One of the tracks (Woman) was personally mixed for the album by Tom Moulton (the originator of musical revolutions like ‘the remix’, ‘the breakdown section’ and the ‘12inch single vinyl format’).
Fuzzy switched between drums and guitar, while taking charge of the lead vocals and production, he was accompanied in the studio by an all-star musician line-up of P-Funk family members such as Jerome ‘Bigfoot’ Brailey (drums), Cordell ‘Boogie’ Mossom (bass), Gary Shider & Michael Hampton (guitars), Glen Goins (piano, drums & guitar)…and of course the fantastic Mr. Bernie Worrell on keyboards. Besides these Parliament/Funkadelic alumni, also present on the recordings are Bruce Nazarian (The Temptations) on Moog and Jazz pianist Gary Schunk (known for his collaborations with Marcus Belgrave & Wendell Harrison).
The result of all this musicianship was a record that oozed quality. Despite the quality of the music (and just like with ‘A Whole Nother Thang’) the album didn’t sell the vast quantities that were projected and didn’t reach the audience it deserved.
‘Radio Active’ is filled with keyboard-driven spacey funk, sharp hooks, popping bass-lines, JB styled soulful (yet sexy) vocals, a hint of disco, fantastic guitar build-ups and breaks that make you shake…a true gem that deserves a place in your record collection (mint vinyl copies are hard to find and pricey these days). If you are a Funkateer…this one’s for you!
Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the FIRST ever vinyl reissue of ‘Radio Active’ since 1978 (the year the record was originally released on Westbound Records).
This unique album comes as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition (strictly limited to 500 copies) with obi strip and features the original artwork created by virtuoso Ronald Edwards (known for his graphic work with Parliament-Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, George Clinton, Maceo Parker, Bernie Worrell, Fishbone…and countless others). To top it all off, this release also includes an insert featuring the original liner notes written in 1994 by renowned author and producer Rob Bowman (Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Marvin Gaye) who reflects on Fuzzy Haskins’ two solo albums.
Available on 180g WHITE vinyl (limited to 500 copies w/obi strip) and on 180g BLACK vinyl (limited to 500 copies w/obi strip).
Available in record stores worldwide and online from www.lightintheattic.net
#Fuzzy Haskins#Pfunk#Funk#funkadelic#parliament#George Clinton#bootsy collins#tidalwavesmusic#lightintheattic
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“Code Word” is a double album on vinyl released in 2018 by The Moles, and available for $15 plus shipping at our online store here:
A review in Brooklyn Vegan sums it up:
“The record's 16 tracks are nearly as disparate, from the Flying Nun style indie rock which typified The Moles' classic Untune the Sky, to southern-fried boogie, bluesy garage rock, power-pop, jazz, psych folk, and everything in between, while Davies' unique approach and distinctive vocals tie everything together. Like his pal Robert Pollard, Richard is a one-of-a-kind.”
Listen to the lead track “Moon In the Daytime “ here:
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#super secret records#vinyl#music#record label#the moles#richard davies#code word#double album#rock and roll#brooklyn vegan#Youtube
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An old mate of my dad and mine died the other day. He'd not been well for a while and his missus knew it. I get the feeling she was starting to resent him being ill and why she was quick to start chucking all his stuff out within a couple of days of him passing....
So my old man goes round to see if she's OK and she's in the process of throwing a load of his old vinyl in a skip!
He rescued a stack of it as he thought I might like it...
I'll be honest, there's a lot of shit in there that'll never get listened to in my house: Rod Stewart, Ellie Brooks, Hot Chocolate, Barbara Dickenson, that sort of middle of the road, 70's/80's pop ballad stuff.
But then there'd some Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, a few Mowtown compilations, and a stack of Fleetwood Mac, that are purely worth it for both Tusk and the goddess Stevie Knicks' Landslide!
So here's to Tony Dandy: The greatest little soul-boy carpenter, me and the old man ever knew.
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Dogfish Head Craft Brewery releases the upcoming plans for National Record Store Day, including this year's beer - Catchy Chorus.
Press Release
MILTON, Del. ... The Official Beer of Record Store Day for eight consecutive years, Dogfish Head will celebrate this year’s holiday, slated for Saturday, April 22, with the release of a new, music-themed beer, Catchy Chorus. Brewed in collaboration with Record Store Day, an organization dedicated to showcasing the culture of independently owned record stores, Catchy Chorus is a double dry-hopped double IPA inspired by the four “magic chords” (E, B, C#m & A) that make up many of the world’s most popular melodies.
Blending Eureka, Bravo, Calypso and Azacca hops, Catchy Chorus comes together in hop and grain harmony to build an unforgettable sensory song. Clocking in at 9.0% ABV, this symphonic sipper is bursting with citrusy and tropical aromas and flavors. Catchy Chorus is now making its way to taps and shelves in 4pk/16oz cans in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. Track some down using Dogfish Head’s Fish Finder.
“As a bunch of beer geeks with music problems, Record Store Day is always one of our favorite days of the year, here at Dogfish Head,” said Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer, Sam Calagione. “We are honored to continue our partnership with Record Store Day, working alongside them to bring together independent beer and independent music stores, and what better way to do just that than by brewing a beer rooted in the notes that collectively create so many top hits!”
To complement the launch of Catchy Chorus, Dogfish Head is teaming up Brooklyn Bowl to host Record Store Day-themed events in select cities across the country.
Saturday, April 15 – Record Store Fair at Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn:
Taking place from 12-3 p.m., this daytime record fair will serve as the official kickoff to the year’s Record Store Day festivities. In addition to assembling an array of local, independently owned record stores ahead of their biggest sales day of the year, this event will offer on-site raffle and giveaway opportunities, DJs spinning vinyl tunes and of course, Dogfish Head beer specials. Beyond sipping and shopping, attendees can expect meet and greets with a myriad of beer and music legends, including:
Sam Calagione, Founder & Brewer at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Carrie Colliton, Co-Founder of Record Store Day
Lenny Kaye, Guitarist for the Patti Smith Group & Curator of NUGGETS Compilation
Monte A. Melnick, Former Ramones Tour Manager
Richard Barone, Author, Recording Artist & Producer
John Holmstrom, Founding Editor, Art Director & Production Manager at PUNK Magazine
This event is free and open to the public. For more details, visit www.dogfish.com/events.
But that’s not all! Later that evening, Dogfish Head is proud to present a special live music show by psych-funk trailblazers, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. The first 20 fans to arrive at the show and visit the Dogfish Head pop-up will receive a copy of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s new Record Store Day vinyl signed by the band and Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione. The record, which officially drops on Saturday, April 22, features a live recording of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong’s 2022 Record Store Day show at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, a performance sponsored by Dogfish Head.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are available HERE for $30 each.
Saturday, April 22 – Official Record Store Day After-Parties at Brooklyn Bowl Locations Nationwide:
After digging through record bins in the morning, beer and music enthusiasts can spend their evenings at one of the Official Record Store After-Parties. Presented by Dogfish Head, folks in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Nashville can keep the off-centered celebration going at their local Brooklyn Bowl location. From musical performances and giveaways to Happy Hours happenings and beer specials, there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy! For more details, please visit www.brooklynbowl.com/shows/all.
To learn more about Dogfish Head and Record Store Day, check out www.dogfish.com and www.recordstoreday.com, respectively.
XXX
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery:
Dogfish Head has focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened as one of the smallest American craft breweries more than 27 years ago. A Delaware-based brand and supporter of the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, Dogfish consists of Brewings & Eats®, an off-centered brewpub, Chesapeake & Maine®, a seafood and cocktail spot, Dogfish Inn®, a beer-themed hotel and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery®, a production brewery and distillery featuring the Tasting Room & Kitchen and Dogfish Head Distilling Co.® For more, visit www.dogfish.com.
Record Store Day:
Record Store Day, the organization, is managed by the Department of Record Stores and is organized in partnership with the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and promotes independent record stores year-round with events, special releases and other fun things.
Record Store Day, the global celebration of the culture of the record store, takes place annually. The 16th Record Store Day is coming up on April 22, 2023.
#Press Release#Beer#Craft Beer#National Record Store Day#Delaware#DE#Milton#Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
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The Rolling Stones "Metamorphosis" LP. This is a fun compilation album of mostly Jagger/Richards originals and it has the wonderful "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys" which The Queers recent cover of recently reignited my love for. Back before the vinyl revival of the late 2000's you could find certain Stones albums in the dollar bin edue to the sheer volume of some titles abound. This was one that'd often pop up in the cheapies bin. As not the biggest Stones fan, I resisted buying it for a long time until one day I ran across this near mint all around copy. I remember thinking if I couldn't find anything redeeming on it I could always sell it (so I must have bought it after I started my store in 2004) Alas, there were a couple songs I really liked and as a whole I enjoyed the flow of the whole album. I imagine I like it because on side one the only Stone present is Mick being backed by studio musicians and there isn't such reliance of blues covers. #LP #Vinyl #Records #TheRollingStones #Metamorphosis #IdMuchRatherBeWithTheBoys https://www.instagram.com/p/CisrkgWOB_f/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
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The Astronauts: Go...Go...Go!!! (1965)
RCA Victor Records
#my vinyl playlist#the astronauts#jon patterson#richard otis fifield#robert graham demmon#dick sellars#brad leach#rca victor records#classic rock#surf rock#garage rock#rock n roll#pop rock#60’s rock#60’s music#record cover#album cover#album art#vinyl records
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# 4,100
Needle & Groove, 2022.
Years ago there was a record store called Slipped Disc in Valley Stream which specialized in metal, punk, and hardcore, just like None Of The Above in Centereach. Both stores no longer exist with Slipped Disc exiting out in 2008. Owner Mike Schutzman now sells records online and is the organizer of Vinyl Revolution Record Show. What had this store on my radar was that his daughter Amanda was interviewed for No Echo’s record collector’s spotlight. She’s no longer really there but still acts as their buyer and distributor. My friend Danny From The 209 loved Slipped Disc back in his Brentwood days but I never got a chance to visit. Now, here’s Needle & Groove. I had an inkling that maybe there was a little sliver of Slipped Disc’s soul. I’d find out soon enough.
Driving there was a daunting ride taking five major roads to get to. Five. Long Island Expressway, Sagtikos Parkway, Sunrise Highway, Meadowbrook Parkway, and finally Route 27. It’s placed in the busiest and tightest section of Lynbrook, right across from the train station. It was fucking hell trying to find parking. Either you find a parking meter or pick a very tight spot behind a small out-of-the-way shopping center and cross your fingers that you won’t get towed. I chose the latter.
Needle & Groove was the Nassau County equivalent to Riverhead’s Sunday Records. (How many times will I mention that place again? Fuck around and find out.) Shelves all against the walls, boxes on the bottom, and a long middle island of more records. I walked around and saw the vinyl layout of the store. New arrivals, the used alphabet and dedicated artists section. Jazz, soul, reggae, soundtracks and 7” hits. The kicker? They’re having a June sale. $3.00 and $5.00 records, and 50% all 45’s and 12” singles. Any time a store offers you a discount, you take it. All throughout Needle & Groove I noticed that their stickers could be considered a tad high. They’re certainly not (Plainview’s) ‘Vinyl Bay 777’ high which price based on condition and justify jacking up the prices three to four times what you pay elsewhere. Needle & Groove didn’t do such a thing, thankfully. Unless marked, the lowest price for any above-bin record starts at $6.99 and go up from there. As I’d later find out, it wasn’t the pricing that prevented me from buying a lot there, as you’ll see.
Right where I walk in to my right are several rows of discs. Five minutes of quick perusing and I found nothing special. I look up at the cassette rack and I found nothing, either, but the usual pop and best-sellers of the Eighties and Nineties. More cassette racks on the bottom. Nothing. Amusingly, there were a few crates of $1.00 and even 25¢ records, but how good could those be? That’s only the first ten minutes of looking. I had to find something, right? Right? I didn’t think there were any new release LPs I wanted, so I kept perusing through the used bins. They had tons of mostly used soul, R&B, and jazz in the racks. I’m not one for the former two, but I’m always curious as to what jazz titles they carried. At least they carried a lot of obscure artists and unknowns I’ve never seen before. Besides, that section was where my most essential scores were.
I still have a few Ron Carter, Deodato, Hank Crawford, and Ronnie Laws albums I don’t have. Ron Carter’s Blues Farm featured the usual suspects of Billy Cobham, Bob James, Richard Tee, Hubert Laws, Ralph MacDonald. Hank Crawford’s We Got A Good Thing Going also has Bob James, Richard Tee, and Ralph MacDonald plus Bernard Purdie and Idris Muhammad. Deodato’s Artistry featured John Tropea and that was an automatic grab. You can very well see what makes a small portion of my vinyl library.
I spotted several bins of 45’s and thumbed through those as well. I didn’t find much, to be honest. Just only a handful of 7” singles of my Atari childhood and maybe one or two I grabbed if only for the paper sleeve design. They carried so many 45’s from Bobby Darrin…Bobby Vinton? - oh, they’re all the same to me. Lots of blank sleeves so unappealing that I jumped right past them and didn’t find much that struck me. I look below and there were a few more wooden filled with 7” records and 45’s. They were so heavy that I couldn’t lift them up and set them on a flat surface, so nothing helped that I had to kneel down to find gold. Not much luck. No shamrocks, no bars, no lucky ‘7’’s.
My knees were already aching from all that bending but there was no end in sight. Onto the 12” singles sections I go. The 12” format is where I usually land a lot of golden-era hip-hop and rap. I was satisfied to pick out some selections from old-school legends Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel; both from the Sugarhill label. One that caught my eye was a Solitair record in a generic black sleeve with matching shiny black and silver sticker. But that wasn’t the reason why I caught it. Appearances by Cardinal Offishal and Choclair made it mine since I remembered them from MuchMusic. There were a couple of more pop hits from my Atari childhood I took with me. And how about this one: Techno Animal’s “We Can Build You” from the Brotherhood Of The Bomb era featuring Vast Aire and Company Flow’s El-P. That one was the only compelling pick of my expedition, and one from a few key months at Stony Brook. By then I was aching. My knees were getting tired. “But don’t quit just yet!”, my head tells me. After another thirty minutes going through their used soundtracks, alphabet and dedicated artists’ LP sections I found nothing appealing. Now there were even more vinyl crates sitting on the floor I wasn’t looking forward to.
I took a few moments to re-collect and start digging through those $3.00 records on the floor. I was hard-pressed to find anything. Nothing but the typical ‘been-there seen-that’ albums and artists in rock, R&B, soul, and your gramma’s classic basement records I wanted no part of. Then I get to dive in through the $5.00 records. After sifting through two of those boxes and still coming up blanks, I knew what to expect. I just gave up and called it a day.
Not much from Needle & Groove struck me. There was almost no element of surprise. The only record that really did it was that Techno Animal single, and it was the furthest thing from everything that the store carried. It’s not that I was expecting gold and pearls and stacks of Benjamins because I drove 35 miles to get there, but you can’t control what stores carry so it’s not their fault. No, really. So what’s the point of staying? Don’t get me wrong, Needle & Groove is a neat store and they’ll definitely have their clientele whose into their selection, but that selection is just not for me. That’s the big reason why I left with only $50.00 worth of records.
Here’s a fun fact for that day: it took me two hours to get home. I drove east on Route 27 during rush hour traffic. Sure, it was congested and every vehicle jockeyed for mere inches, but I had layers of puffy high-altitude clouds and plenty of sharp blue sky to look forward to. I had no work the following day, so I could afford to relax and enjoy the tunes playing from my now-disconnected iPhone SE to my system and out of my speakers.
Deodato: Artistry LP
Hank Crawford: We Got A Good Thing Going LP
Ronnie Laws: Friends And Strangers LP
Ron Carter: Blues Farm LP
Grandmaster Flash: “Flash To The Beat” 12”
Melle Mel & Duke Booty: “Message II (Survival)” 12”
Solitair ft. Choclair & Cardinal Offishall: “No Doubt” b/w “S.O.T.” 12”
Nu Shooz: “Point Of No Return” 12”
Techno Animal ft. El-P & Vast Aire: “We Can Build You” 12”
Frankie Goes To Hollywood: “Relax” 7”
System, The: “Don’t Desert This Groove” 7”
#jazz#fusion#pop#dance#hip-hop#rap#old-school#backpacker#music#playlists#mixtapes#reviews#auru omega#personal#Long Island
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Everything Solved at Once: Silent Forum
Kevin McGrath reviews the long-awaited debut album, Everything Solved at Once, from Silent Forum which includes tracks such as ‘Robot’.Silent Forum Promotional Image
Two years ago, Silent Forum released Sanctuary+, a cassette-only compilation issued through Oddbox, that collected together a handful of the band’s essential singles and EP’s recorded between 2015-2017. For die-hard followers of Cardiff’s indie-noir outfit this was a sign of progress, proof positive that the band had left some sort of imprint on the capital’s music scene. At the same time, however, it felt like the end of an era too – despite his captivating stage presence, frontman Richard Wiggins (think Ian Curtis, Samuel T. Herring and Marcel Marceau all rolled into one) remained the best-kept secret in Welsh pop; the band still hadn’t secured a conventional record deal and they were largely absent from the nation’s radio stations too. And all this at a time when fellow Cardiff combo Boy Azooga, playing to an audience of millions on Later…with Jools Holland, seemed to have hit the top jackpot on the first spin of the wheel.
The group’s frustration with the Welsh music establishment was evident on “How I Faked The Moon Landing”, a groovy, six-minute epic that railed against the band’s continued underdog status. Indeed, the song’s key line ‘We’re destined to be a local band not on local radio’, while being laugh out loud funny, was a disarmingly honest appraisal of the group’s prospects. There was a delicious irony, then, in events as they unfolded in the summer of 2018 – a song furiously lamenting a lack of radio exposure was suddenly ever-present across the airwaves. Soon enough, DJs, bloggers and music critics were including the track in their ‘best of 2018’ playlists. The frenetic follow-up single “Robot” reinforced the impression that this was a band on the up and an album deal with Libertino was announced before the summer was out.
While it’s entirely predictable that Everything Solved at Once, Silent Forum’s confidently constructed debut album should kick off with the uber-pop of killer single “Robot”, the pair of tracks that follow thrillingly confound expectations*. “Spin” is a hypnotic maelstrom of fractured guitar licks and soaring vocals, while “Safety In Numbers”, an atypical ballad built around interweaving melody lines, overlapping vocals and an intriguing meditation on friendship (the tune drifts to a close with a roll call of band members and a status update as to their well-being), is a stunning track that speaks to the band’s versatility and ambition. Side 1 (the revival of vinyl means that we can write about albums in these terms once again), concludes with “A Great Success”, a number that surges along on a classic indie-noir riff, before climaxing in a stadium-sized chorus, and the curiously-titled “Credit To Mark Sinker” (a music journalist, if you were wondering), which sees Wiggins channelling his inner Robert Lloyd. Despite an intriguing lyric, it’s probably the least effective track on show here.
The title track kicks off a strong second side; “Everything Solved At Once”, a punchy number with a towering chorus, is reminiscent of early-period Editors and has ‘future single’ stamped all over it. “A Pop Act” is a prequel/sequel to “How I Faked The Moon Landing” and offers further surreal commentary on the band’s struggle to punch a hole in the pop stratosphere – ‘Went back to the Swedish furniture company / returned our flat pack songs / I don’t like my music bland… I like it intense and sad’. The album builds to an edgy finish with three outstanding tracks; “Outmoded”, is a brooding, beast of a track built around a mournful base motif and a shrill guitar; “A Kind Of Blue”, a song which has been a staple of the band’s live shows for some time, usually sparks into life in a live setting thanks to Wiggins’ strange exhortations during the tune’s extended instrumental break. There are no visual aids to cue our emotional responses here, of course, but the song is a triumph nonetheless, thanks to the pitch-perfect production skills of Charlie Francis. Importantly, the album benefits from a coherent feel throughout, despite the unexpected presence of a trumpet and even a burst of canned applause at one point, which is testimony to Francis’ guidance but also, to the chemistry that exists between comrades-in-arms Oli Richards (bass) Dario Ordi (guitar) and Elliot Samphier (drums). The album closes with the delirious, dance-punk of “How I Faked the Moon Landing”, the song building to a triumphant close as Wiggins defiantly positions the band as outliers – “Why would we want to be like them?” he insists over and over again as the music exhausts itself.
Everything Solved at Once is a black-comedy concept album about life on the fringes of the Welsh music biz, which is something of a first for my record collection and, quite possibly, yours. While pop music has a history of self-referential songs, from “Hey, We’re the Monkeys” to the 80’s frippery of “Ant Music”, Silent Forum push this self-obsession to its limit, with over half of their debut LP (as well as a couple of recent B-sides) devoted to the internal machinations of the band. This may seem to be a chronic case of navel-gazing and part of me does indeed yearn for a return to the intense, anxiety-driven songwriting that gave birth to early band classics such as “Limbo”, the emotionally pulverising “Who’s Going to Side With Me?” and the traumatic epic “Hosanna”. Wiggins has clearly moved on, though, writing with a self-deprecating sense of humour and a sharp eye for a whip-smart one-liner about his band and, in a curious sub-theme, workplace alienation as experienced by a cluster of ‘data cleansing worker bees’.
Everything Solved at Once catapults Silent Forum straight into the top tier of indie-noir, even as they begin to shift their sound into a more dance-punk oriented direction. In common with other trailblazers of the genre, from The Murder Capital and Fontaines DC to the punkier Shame, Silent Forum make music that thrums with the disquietude of the times. While Indie-noir hasn’t delivered an outright classic album post Joy Division, Everything Solved At Once, a claustrophobic, yet cinematic record, may, in time, rank alongside near misses such as Whipping Boy’s Heartworm (1995) Interpol’s Turn On The Bright Lights (2002), Editors’ The Back Room (2005) or The National’s High Violet (2010).
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Recofloor ‘hits the road’ to support the industry
Recofloor hosted several pop-up visits and trade events at flooring distributors during summer 2023, which provided an excellent opportunity to introduce how the waste vinyl flooring collection scheme works and how it can help the flooring sector solve their disposal needs and challenges.
From May to September, Recofloor Scheme Manager, Carla Eslava visited distributor trade counters located from Manchester to Cardiff where she gave an overview of Altro and Polyflor’s take-back scheme to the trade counter staff and foot traffic.
In the first face-to-face visits since the start of the pandemic, Recofloor’s proactive approach was welcomed, particularly by trade counter staff who benefited from the latest news. New contractors were more interested in the longer and more educational morning trade events learning more about the scheme. Recofloor promotional materials, flyers, chocolates and pens, plus Altro and Polyflor goodies were delivered at the event. Recofloor branded window decals, specifically designed for distributors that indicates the site is a designated Recofloor drop-off point, were also dropped off.
“Many contractors were interested to hear that Recofloor can accept LVT offcuts and loose lay vinyl and were keen to increase their collections that include this material. It was helpful to remind them of what we can collect,” comments Carla. “Through engaging with customers, we can spread awareness of the scheme and the convenience of free waste vinyl flooring disposal and how their participation could contribute to winning more business. As so many Recofloor members can attest, ‘it’s a win-win all round’ for the environment and business cost savings.”
In addition to the visits and the morning trade events, the scheme undertook additional calls to distributors who also received flyers along with a short Recofloor video clip for those with a promotional monitor at their trade counters.
Pop-up visits and morning trade events, which included scheme promotional items, were held at the following locations:
May 2023
TradeChoice Carpet and Flooring, Birmingham
3D Flooring Supplies, Bristol
Trade Choice & Flooring, Bristol
Richards, Bristol
July 2023
Pennine Floorings Supplies Ltd
TradeChoice Carpet and Flooring, Manchester
Branagan Flooring Services Ltd
Lee Floorstok Ltd, Liverpool
September 2023
HFD Ltd, Bridgend,
3D Flooring Supplies Ltd, Cardiff
Birch Distribution Ltd, Sheffield
This year, Recofloor also welcomed two new distributor members to their drop-off network – HFD Ltd, Coleshill and SASGO Ltd, Glenrothes, Scotland, bringing the number of UK-wide drop-off sites to more than 60. Recofloor bins are now set up at the new sites and promotional flyers were delivered, informing vinyl customers of the service. More distributors are invited to join the network and benefit from extensive Recofloor support. All participants were invited by email to register for the regular Recofloor e-newsletter.
Carla adds: “We provided flyers, in both digital and print formats, to promote distributors’ drop off points, also informing customers of the easy access to the Recofloor bins on site. The service is free, simple and offers a sustainable and cost-saving alternative to traditional waste disposal routes.
“As part of our ongoing communication efforts, we’re encouraging our distributor members, who are not already, to subscribe to our e-newsletter so that they receive timely updates and stay informed about all the latest developments within the Recofloor scheme.”
To subscribe, simply click on the following link: https://www.recofloor.org/subscribe-to-recofloor-enews/. For more information on the scheme, visit www.recofloor.org or contact Recofloor on 0161 355 7618 or at [email protected].
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Friday, 29 September 2023:
All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend Aurora (Glassnote) (released 2016)
Yeah, yeah, she spells her name all caps. I don't put the quotes in Dylan's Love and Theft, I don't spell Stuart A Staples with a small "s," a capital "A" and a small "s" and I don't spell her name in all caps. (I do spell e.e. cummings this way though, so maybe I'm being hypocritical, although rarely do I ever bother with the periods behind each "e".)
Anyhow, I'm bit trepidatious about this album. This is another God's Jukebox pick and without hearing this I'm batting .500: Richard Swift is a winner while Liela Moss is not. I like both songs I've heard from Aurora on GJ and I like them considerably. But as I was investigating buying choices for her most recent album, 2022's The Gods We Can Touch there were so many variants I opted out. There are versions with a bonus album, another with more tracks, several different covers to choose from and each one gets more and more ridiculously costly. And then my biggest discovery was the red translucent vinyl someone was selling for $20 was a Walmart pressing. Walmart is carrying Aurora? A peculiar 27 year old from Norway? (And I mean no dishonor using the word "peculiar." Even she says she was taken aback when she saw how she behaves when she performs. And it isn't as if her songs are your standard pop songs.) Then i discovered there is another pressing only from Urban Outfitters. What? Is this woman a Good Morning America musical selection?
I opted not to let that nonsense get me down. I like what I've heard from her (granted only two songs and one of them eschews her standard synth sound for an acoustic guitar thanks to it being a radio session, which is certainly my favorite from her I've heard thus far) and I wanted to test the waters with an album. I opted for her debut and we shall see what it beholds. Above you see the album cover, the gatefold and the back of the album. Below you will find both sides of the record label.
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Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the working week although, for those of you working in the NHS, welcome to just another day.
R.I.P. Cynthia Weil. With her partner Barry Mann, she co-wrote many beautiful songs including ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ by The Righteous Brothers and ‘Don’t Know Much’ by Aaron Neville & Linda Ronstadt.
The weekend got off to a great start! Friday night at The Tabernacle! They’ve got one turntable, a huge sound system and the DJs play seven-inch vinyl to a very appreciative crowd. Good vibes! Good to see legendary DJ Smokey Joe, who I first met at The Palm Tree Club on Fore Street, Edmonton 40 years ago, and good to meet drummer Richard Bailey, who has been part of British black music since day one (playing on albums by Linda Lewis, Sharon Forrester, Osibisa, Billy Ocean, Gonzalez, Incognito, The Breakfast Band, Morrissey Mullen and now Cymande.)
We were at The Tabernacle to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Metronomes Steel Orchestra, an integral part of UK culture for decades. Our great-nephew Elijah-Pops is part of the band. He’s one of those beautiful kids at the top of my Facebook page. I’ve known him since the day he was born. When he cried, they gave him to me, and I would walk around the house saying to him, “There’s no crying in baseball!”
Metronomes is as much a social club and family as anything else. Parents send their kids to Metronomes to join the Mini-Metros, as they grow up, they graduate to the group you will see at Carnival, and then there is another line-up for virtuoso musicians. I’ve got into soca later in life and, having listened to SO much music over the last 62 years, I am very appreciative of people generating imaginative rhythmic arrangements (as opposed to the simplistic thud of flaccid house!)
During the show, I clicked on Facebook Live and captured a few minutes as it happened. Listening back to the video, it made me realise how noisy the audience was! Really hate it when people talk through a musical performance! Go and do your second-rate flirting somewhere else!
Also on Friday, I discovered that my mate Northolt Paul has just contracted Covid! This is a man I hugged last Sunday at The White Lion but, thankfully, I’m fine! And this is why I still wear my mask on public transport and in shops!
Many thanks to everyone that listened to the show live and to everyone that will listen to the show on MixCloud. The Letter N (Part One) next Saturday at 1.00 p.m.
We were going to spend Saturday night with one beautiful friend but she cancelled, so we thought we’d spend Saturday night with Lady Wesker instead but she cancelled too! The one person who was very happy about all this was The Mighty Josiah (he hates it when we go away), which meant we were suddenly on grandparent duty!
On Sunday, I was a man. I mean, obviously, I’m a man but, on Sunday, I was very manly. I attempted and achieved a fairly sacred set of manly tasks. 1) weekly grocery shop at Sainsbury’s, 2) washed the car (and my son’s car as well) with help from son and grandson, 3) took grandson to local park (played football in a cage with kids 50 years younger than me in 80 degree heat), and 4) came home to help prepare brunch. Still got it.
Have a marvellous and momentous Monday. I love you all.
#mixcloud#mi soul#dj#music#new blog#lockdown#coronavirus#books#weekend#democracy#brexit#cronyism#election#radio
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