No photos please. Bugger off you rotten scoundrels. Piss off, I say. Just the basics here. The complete catalog pressed in a limited quantity heavy weight edition. Sounds good, looks good, feels good. Check ‘em all out here.
You may like the band, you may not. But the covers are some of the best covers in rock-roll and you can’t experience them adequately by viewing them as CD or thumbnail images. In fact, my posting them here makes me look like a conflicted idiot because this presentation is weak and stunted compared to the real thing. Good Lord, buy the records.
Great googily moogily. This 2LP set is fantastically delicious. Paper-wrapped gatefold jacket with two lovingly produced and pressed 180 Gram Vinyl El Pees. And it comes with a copy of the record on the CD format for instant enjoyment while driving around in your automobile.
And really, how can a CD compete? Let alone a dig-i-tal down-load?
A friend of mine turned me onto this record and I have to say that I’m smitten. Love the sound, the production, the quality of the pressing, the weight of the jacket. The screams, the sighs, the soul-shaking. I know there’s plenty out there to satisfy the rafter rattling sounds of low-fi hi-expectations soul music. Daptone does it on a regular basis. So does Numero. I actually like buying their records. Feel it’s a great investment for my spirit. They’ve never left me light in the pocket without leaving me heavy in the mortal coil. This music and these records are as close as I’ll get to holy communion so what’s the harm in shouting it to those rattling rafters?
Light In The Attic and Vinyl Films put this out early in ‘08. The limited edition of 2,500 went fast and now it’s one of those records that you just can’t find, and that doesn’t stop you from wanting it desperately. Watching the movie over the weekend I’m reminded of all the reasons why this movie and soundtrack are so interlocked. Watching the movie also makes me want to take up playing the banjo.
Shifty passed away June 17, 2009. He was one of the original Toccoa men and featured heavily in the HBO mini-series “Band Of Brothers.” Hearing about this over the weekend from an email chain many degrees removed I felt like I’d lost a relative. Not the kind of relative that you stayed with during Summer vacations when you’re a kid, but a relative through a branch of your family that you hadn’t heard from in years. A relative that informed your family history, that made it legitimate.
I’m not related to Shifty, but I’m glad I knew of him. Rest In Peace.
The perfect sound of melancholy. I know this record has been out there for a bit, but I go back to it often. The album cover, the lyrics, the emotive resonance kills. This record, in particular, echoes that directive about writing what you know and if this is what Mr. Darnielle knows than he deserves a place in the palace for spilling his guts. And kudos to 4AD for pressing these fine, sad songs into sweet, sweet vinyl. After all, nothing hides the bitter taste of life like a square foot of physical, musical sweetness.
Today is the day in 1877 that Edison invented the phonograph. And what’s a phonograph without a record? Not much. As it’s always been, the music flows in the direction of technology and the first major step was the long playing record. The EL PEE. Wax. The Groove. Dynaflex. Unbreakable. Hi-Fidelity, Full=Spectrum. Living Sound. ffrr. Mono. Stereo.
Take a break today and remember the fully engaged quality of listening to a record. You need be present. You need to listen. And for those with completely manual turntables you need to lift the needle at the end of each side. Sweet. For more info and to support Vinyl Record Day, head on over here and get involved.
Last night I sat on my neighbor’s porch and watched the tempest roll across Storm King Mountain and down the Hudson River. The lightning and thunder were a testament to our insignificance. The white flashing was brighter than the noon day sun, even as it was as brief as an eye blink. And the thunder actually rolled over the mountains rumbling down the channel. What it must have been like to experience before the knowledge of what it was. Of course there were gods in the sky and water and trees and mountains.
This record is like that. Music from the distant past brought through time to the present without regret, nostalgia or too much conscious thought. It’s from the time before understanding when rhythm and melody and soaring voices made sense of the unknown and brought comfort to the night.
Blogs, alt-weeklies, local papers, innumerable websites, RSS feeds, national press. And now, finally, national broadcast news. I think the story is old but I realize that most of us don’t pay attention to much of anything. We’re involved and dedicated followers of ourselves. So seeing a two minute piece on vinyl via NBC News seemed like an attempt to get more folks focused on the story. The format is strong. The format continues to grow.
There are three substantial obstacles to achieving long term success. One, we need more new titles (new artists as well as key catalog) in print. Lovingly produced. We’ll fail at this is we make crappy records. We need the best titles manufactured to the highest quality. Two, we need more production capacity close to home. The handful of pressing plants in the US cannot expand to match demand. They can get better at making records, but they have limited ability to put additional presses on line. Three, we need more store fronts committed to the format. And when I say “store fronts” I mean local, independent shops with taste, character and a connection to their local communities. Buying and selling music is best handled by a local, trusted voice.
Dylan in mono as issued by Sundazed. Cool 2-eye Columbia label. Damn, this sounds too good for words. The Plaza has a farmer’s market this morning and Conklin Orchards does these sweet mini-pies. Peach is on tap this AM. Mighty tasty.
Not meaning to name-check two of my favorite web destinations, but The Eyeball Kid had a great link this AM to a Tom Waits flickr page. Don’t delay-check it here.
Yes, I admit it. The first time I heard this record I thought, “Why, this outfit is just tweaking the MJJ sound and not enough to make me think it’s something new, something beyond.” Now, after numerous listens and advice from trusted sources I’m a believer. Sometimes it takes a whispered word calling you out for being an ass to make you wake up, open up the ears and partake.
I also LOVE the fact that they put a Bruegel The Elder painting on the cover of their record. Spend some time looking at the detail. This is some kind of crazy vision and not for the faint of heart.
Really, I rolled through the Doors self titled into Stardeath and I can’t help but realize the connection. Strains of psychedelic rock with solid song writing and sweet hooks. Separated by 42 years, but connected by all the grand traditions. Neither recording produced for mass consumption, the Doors showing what could be the path for “art rock.” The fancy way of saying they had something to say. Certainly not the first to do so, but the first to connect to a larger audience without sacrificing their integrity.
Stardeath And White Dwarfs, connected to The Flaming Lips through some sort of blood relation as well as musical mission. Get in the studio, fiddle with the knobs and make layers of noise, trip, harmony, cacophony, jazz, psyche and ominous foreboding. Yep, the logical conclusion to the conversation started by Morrison and Co.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t steal money off a friend, but I’d steal his girlfriend.” Joe Strummer
Spinning Sandinista! this AM. You know it, you’ve lived with it now almost thirty years. Man, we made better records back then. Three LP’s full of all sorts of shenanigans-as it should be.
What made me throw the record on this morning is my recollection of The Future Is Unwritten. The quote above is taken from that. My favorite bit in the movie is his ongoing monologue/dialogue over all sorts of footage and photographs of the band. He’s in the pantheon for me, along with Bukowski and Johnny Cash. Miss him, and glad to have the music.
It’s August. We’re getting to the hard, hot part of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere. I’ll be honest when I say I’m already tired of it all. I mentioned to a friend that I felt as if I had moss for hair and webbed appendages. Too much.
Nothing clears the moisture in the air like a nice, clean, black vinyl record. This morning I’m spinning the Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand. They could have done a better job on the jacket, giving it the full old-school paper wrapped treatment, but the songs, my God, the songs. If you’re going to put your money where the music is I guess I can’t really complain. T Bone Burnett produced, this is one of the great recordings of the new century’s oughts. I can’t believe this record is already two years old. It sounds like it’s been unearthed from forever ago and will still echo through space once we ditch this planet and move on.
A friend of mine turned me onto this record and I have to say that I’m smitten. Love the sound, the production, the quality of the pressing, the weight of the jacket. The screams, the sighs, the soul-shaking. I know there’s plenty out there to satisfy the rafter rattling sounds of low-fi hi-expectations soul music. 
Shifty
The perfect sound of melancholy. I know this record has been out there for a bit, but I go back to it often. The album cover, the lyrics, the emotive resonance kills. This record, in particular, echoes that directive about writing what you know and if this is what Mr. Darnielle knows than he deserves a place in the palace for spilling his guts. And kudos to 
Today is the day in 1877 that Edison invented the phonograph. And what’s a phonograph without a record? Not much. As it’s always been, the music flows in the direction of technology and the first major step was the long playing record. The EL PEE. Wax. The Groove. Dynaflex. Unbreakable. Hi-Fidelity, Full=Spectrum. Living Sound. ffrr. Mono. Stereo.
Last night I sat on my neighbor’s porch and watched the tempest roll across 
Yes, I admit it. The first time I heard this record I thought, “Why, this outfit is just tweaking the MJJ sound and not enough to make me think it’s something new, something beyond.” Now, after numerous listens and advice from trusted sources I’m a believer. Sometimes it takes a whispered word calling you out for being an ass to make you wake up, open up the ears and partake.
Really, I rolled through the Doors self titled into Stardeath and I can’t help but realize the connection. Strains of psychedelic rock with solid song writing and sweet hooks. Separated by 42 years, but connected by all the grand traditions. Neither recording produced for mass consumption, the Doors showing what could be the path for “art rock.” The fancy way of saying they had something to say. Certainly not the first to do so, but the first to connect to a larger audience without sacrificing their integrity.