Flowering Toilet

Black Friday is Soul Time!

2011-11-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

I hadn't realized it until recently but Black Friday has become a kind of mini Record Store Day. You can see the full list of releases on the Record Store Day webpage.

The main thing that caught my eye was a limited edition Sharon Jones album, Soul Time!, which purports to represent the funkier side of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (does Sharon Jones have a side that isn't funky?). It's an odds and sods type compilation featuring some previously released singles, b-sides, compilation tracks, as well as studio versions of some previously unreleased live favorites. Two of my favorites are a very funky cover of Shuggie Otis' "Inspiration Information," and the Christmas song "Ain't No Chimneys In the Projects." "Chimneys" is far more than a Holiday novelty song, as it beautifully recognizes and honors the struggles and sacrifices made by a working, single mother to make Christmas a special for her daughter.

Luckily my local record shop had a few copies on LP (somehow buying Sharon Jones on CD seems wrong). The packaging is beautiful and the record was nicely mastered at Golden Mastering and well pressed to standard weight vinyl. Despite the disparate sources, the whole album holds together nicely. My only complaint? Where is their blazing cover of Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)"? The small print on the cover calls this "Vol. 1," so hopefully it will show up on Vol. 2.

Soul Time! is limited to 5,000 copies on LP and 20,000 on CD, so get up, get out, get into it, and get yourself to your local independent record store.

New Paul Weller Album, Sonik Kicks, Due March 26th

2011-11-22T11:47:00.002-05:00

With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, I think we should all take a moment to be thankful that Paul Weller is alive and kicking and still making relevant music in the year 2011.

Paul Weller will release a new solo album, Sonik Kicks, on March 26th, 2012, and his management has kindly made a preview track, "Around The Lake," available for download.

"Around The Lake" has a heavy psychedelic feel to it with Krautrock overtones, and in my opinion it sounds like Paul could still teach some of these young kids a thing or two about how to rock out. Paul hasn't sounded like an angry young man for quite some time now, but we can be thankful he doesn't sound like a toothless old geezer either (unlike yours truly, who will be thankful if he is able to digest turkey this year rather than being spoon-fed gruel).

I get emails all the time from established and new acts asking me to post a track, and I rarely judge the music interesting enough to post here. (That's not to say the music is inherently uninteresting, it just usually doesn't catch my ear). This is different. Check it out, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Second Chance At Big Star

2011-11-11T14:04:00.000-05:00

If you missed out on scoring a copy of Omnivore's test pressing version of Big Star's Third on Record Store Day, you have a second chance. Omnivore has 500 copies pressed on clear vinyl available for sale exclusively at their web store. The price is steep (in my opinion) at $60, but that is much less than you would pay for a copy on eBay.

I was lucky enough to score a copy in store on Record Store Day, and I don't remember paying that much for the black vinyl version. But I know many were not so lucky, as this was one of the most in-demand Record Store Day items ever (and for good reason). I can practically hear the wailing and teeth gnashing of vinyl hoarders who camped out on Record Store Day about the unfairness of it all. Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just passing along the news to those who might be interested.

This an amazing album and package, and the sound quality is outstanding. It's hard for me to imagine a fan of Big Star not wanting this in their collection.

I also see that Omnivore has a CD and "digital LP" of Richard Thompson's long out-of-print instrumental album Strict Time available for pre-order. I wrote a bit about this album a while ago, and it is gratifying to see it returning to print after having been unavailable for too long.

Time To SMiLE

2011-10-31T12:40:00.000-04:00

After a forty-four year gestation period, Capitol records will release the Beach Boys' SMiLE Sessions tomorrow in a variety of configurations ranging from a two CD set, a two LP set, a box set with five CDs, two LPs and two 7" singles, not to mention a super-deluxe set that includes your own personal SMiLE surfboard signed by the surviving members of the band.

How much SMiLE do you need? Since I don't surf, I settled for the two LP set (my local record shop had a few copies out early). Sides one through three are the album as it has been pieced together by Mark Linett and others, and side four presents a few alternate stereo takes. I know some people derive great pleasure from listening to various tracking sessions, demos and alternate versions of songs, but I am not one of those people. Personally, I am very grateful to people like Mark Linett for doing the painstaking work of editing this material into something coherent.

From what I understand, piecing together the finished product in ProTools was an incredibly arduous task, so it is no wonder that Brian gave up in frustration in 1967 with only scissors and tape at his disposal. Much has been written about Brian's deteriorating mental state in 1967, as well as resistance from certain factions within the band, but in my opinion what it comes down to is the fact that the music in Brian Wilson's head in 1967 was about forty years ahead of the technology necessary to complete it.

Much ink has been spilled about SMiLE over the years, and the release of something like a complete, finished version will no doubt spark much further conversation: Is this really what Brian would have released if had finished the album in 1967? Would the album have been hailed as a masterpiece or received as a curiosity? Would it's legacy loom as large if it had not had the aura of "lost masterpiece" surrounding it for so many years? How would the Beatles have responded to SMiLE? What would it's influence have been had it been released in 1967? Would we have still had to suffer through the Doobie Brothers and Journey, or might popular music have gone in an entirely different and more interesting direction? As fun as it is to speculate about such things, I'll leave debate about questions that can't possibly be answered to others.

I do have a couple things to say.

First, the vinyl pressing of this album is exceptional. That is not always the case with Capitol, but they wisely outsourced the cutting of the vinyl lacquers to Chris Bellman of Bernie Grundman mastering, and Chris is one of the best in the business. I don't know where the lacquers were pressed, but vinyl quality itself is also excellent, virtually free of surface noise and pressed (on center) on heavy weight vinyl. The packaging is absolutely beautiful, and the set is also reasonably priced at around $25 (less than average for a 180 gram double LP). I have no reservations whatsoever about recommending the vinyl version.

Second, I just want to say that I am so happy for Frank Holmes, the artist who created the cover image for the album, to finally have his work available the way it was meant to be seen. I talked to Frank a few years ago about the SMiLE artwork. Frank is a lovely and diplomatic person, but even after the passage of so many years I could hear in his voice how heartbroken he was about the fact that Capitol destroyed the covers they had printed up for the album. I did not detect a hint of bitterness in Frank, but he still sounded devastated by that loss. I don't know how he felt about the fact that Brian went with different artwork for Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE in 2004, but I'm glad that his legendary album cover is now actually, finally, an album cover. I hope Frank has a big smile on his face today. I know I do.

Les Baxter - Ritual Of The Savage (Le Sacre du Sauvage)

2011-09-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

This one was certainly worth it for more than just the album cover. But what what an album cover it is. Take a moment to appreciate the composition: a modern couple donned in formal attire embrace in a garden framed by large "primitive" idols. But take a closer look at the couple. Are they embracing, or is the woman rebuffing an unwanted advance from her male partner? Perhaps she is trying to control her mate's savage instincts. Or perhaps he simply failed to set the proper mood for their romantic interlude. If only he had played his copy of Les Baxter's Ritual Of The Savage for her, the evening might have ended differently. Should Baxter's elegant exotica have failed to arouse her inner savage, he could always have pulled out his copy of Jackie Gleason's subtly titled, Music To Change Her Mind.

Gleason's album is a sophisticated variant of what was known as "mood music," soothing instrumental takes on standards such as "Dancing In The Dark" and "You And The Night And The Music." But why should the desperate bachelor of the 1950s turn to Les Baxter's mix of melody and jungle rhythms for romantic help?

The genre of "exotica," of which Baxter's album is arguably the first album-length example, is a complex cultural phenomena that I could not hope to unpack here. If I really wanted talk seriously about exotica, I'd have to touch on Freud, Social Darwinism, colonialism, and the specific post-war historical circumstances in which the genre became popular. But, fortunately for you, I do not want to talk about exotica seriously.

Instead, I would caution against taking an album like Ritual Of The Savage too seriously, as the exotica genre was surely full of a lot of tongue and cheek humor. For the hipster of the 1990s (yours truly included), the rediscovery of 50s exotica provided a welcome respite from the increasingly humorless onslaught of grunge. But not all of the revivalists may have been aware that the progenitors of the genre were in on the joke as well.

Consider this Capitol Records promotional document for Ritual Of The Savage (subtitled, no doubt in a nod to Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Sauvge) from 1951 that I discovered on the I'm Learning To Share blog:

Capitol Records magazine promo for Les Baxter's Ritual of the Savage LP, 1951.
Sourced from I'm Learning To Share blog. Click to enlarge.

The premise is a parody of the Hollywood "excursion" films that were popular during the 1930s, with Baxter as "Serge Drek" who guides steel wool heiress Griselde Kittle (Dottie O'Brien) into the heart of Africa in search of her missing sister, who may or may not be the fabled White Goddess (Gisele MacKenzie). Clearly no one involved with this album was taking the concept too seriously at the time.

Fortunately, a highly refined sense of irony is not necessary to appreciate the music contained in the grooves of this record. Kitsch value aside, the melodies that adorn such compositions as "Quiet Village," "Jungle Flower," and "Kinkajou" are gorgeous, and the propulsive African-style percussion really does create a sense of excitement that is missing from much of the other "mood music" of the period. Highly recommended. The album is available for download at the usual places, as well as packaged as a CD-twofer with another Baxter album, The Passions, on the Rev-Ola label.

A Latin Love-In

2011-09-19T11:35:00.000-04:00

Maybe some people could pass on picking up a record with a cover like this, but I am not one of those people.

This one was worth grabbing for more than just the cover. Tony Mottola was a very sensitive guitar player (he did a number of recording dates with Sinatra, and was a member of his touring band in later years). The orchestrations are brash and over-the-top in typical Enoch Light fashion. If you are not too hung up on the idea of "good taste" this is a very fun album to listen to.

As far as I can tell this was never issued on CD, but somehow it is available on iTunes.

Update On YepRoc Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight Reissue

2011-09-16T11:56:00.002-04:00

Some time ago I posted news that YepRoc would be reissuing the Soft Boys' 1980 classic album, Underwater Moonlight, on LP. At the time I passed along information in good faith that was provided by YepRoc via email that turned out to be inaccurate, and I feel a responsibility to set the record straight.

At the time of my original post in November of 2010, the LP release had been delayed, and YepRoc passed along news from Robyn Hitchcock that explained the delay and described the recut version. After having purchased the LP, it is apparent to me that the information provided in that email does not describe the final product that YepRoc brought to market. The full text of that email is provided below:

Hello dear vinyl-hunters,

Many apologies for the delay in getting the latest A Can Of Bees and Underwater Moonlight out to you. The LP test-pressings were sent over for Morris Windsor to check (as he has both a record-deck and ears that work well) and he felt that the cut was inferior to the originals (which he also has). We had been mastering from the 1993 DAT tapes, as the best reference source for these old recordings.

However, in the course of our conversations, Morris discovered an original production master (copy of the original mixes) of UM deep in his attic. This transpired to have the long-missing version of Old Pervert that graced the 1980 release of UM, amongst this uniquely surviving set of 1/4" mixes. This was like finding an ashtray in a pub these days: enchanted and wicked. So Morris FedExed (yes, it's a verb) the tape to the management office in LA where Richard Bishop (who had released the original UM 30 years ago on Armageddon Records) had the tapes baked. They go into a kind of pizza oven to prevent the ferric oxide falling off like liquorice.

At this point we decided to re-cut A Can Of Bees from a pristine vinyl copy. This was supplied by Geoffrey Weiss, a long-term music supporter in the quagmire of showbusiness; Geoffrey also kindly supervised the cut, along with Richard. The re-cuts were FedExed back to Morris who pronounced them very good. Morris is not given to hyperbole, and I have always favoured his judgement, when he gives it, over my own.

YepRoc have patiently waited for the improved LPs, and done their best to reassure anxious purchasers of these items who paid for them a while back and have seen nothing yet for their money. If you are amongst them, please again accept my apologies on behalf of the former Soft Boys, and I hope that the quality compensates in some way for the delay.

Best wishes from the old country,

Robyn Hitchcock

Unfortunately, the LP that I bought does not match the description above. First of all, the LP was cut in mono. To my knowledge there has never been a mono mix of this album (it was after all recorded in 1980, not 1967), and all previous issues of the album, including the original pressing on Armageddon Records (ARM 1), are in stereo. Second, the version of "Old Pervert" on the YepRoc reissue LP is the not the original one described in the email, but rather the "disco" version common to all previous Underwater Moonlight reissues.

I have no idea what happened here, and I won't speculate, but it is easy to conclude something went very wrong with this reissue based on this evidence alone. I attempted to contact YepRoc for answers to some of the questions raised by these problems, but received no response. The relevant portions of my email to YepRoc are reproduced below:

Dear [Redacted],

Back in November of 2010 I posted an item on my blog, Flowering Toilet, promoting YepRoc's then upcoming LP reissue of The Soft Boys' Underwater Moonlight:

http://floweringtoilet.blogspot.com/2010/11/soft-boysrobyn-hitchcock-reissue-news.html

After having purchased the LP, I feel the need to post a follow up, because it appears to me that the version of the LP that YepRoc has released does not match the description that Robyn offered, and that I passed along to my readers in good faith.

There are two major issues with the YepRoc LP reissue that I regard as extremely problematic. First, and most importantly, the LP is in mono, not stereo. Given that Underwater Moonlight has never been previously issued in a mono version (and the fact that it was recorded in 1980, not 1967) I have to assume that this is the result of a mistake. Second, the version of "Old Pervert" is the "disco" version of the song that is common to previous reissues (Glass Fish, Ryko, Matador), not the original version of the song that appeared on the Armageddon LP in 1980, and that Robyn indicated would appear on the YepRoc LP.

I am hoping you will be able to answer the following questions so that I can pass along the answers to my readers:

1) Why is the LP in mono, not stereo?
2) Why does the "disco" version of "Old Pervert" appear on the YepRoc reissued LP instead of the original LP version as promised by Robyn in his email to YepRoc customers?
3) Was the LP, as released by YepRoc, in fact cut from the production master that had been in the possession of Morris Windsor and is mentioned in Robyn's email, and was this the version that Morris pronounced "very good"?
4) Does YepRoc consider the LP, as released, acceptable? If not, what steps, if any, are being taken to rectify the situation?

I am reluctant to post anything on my blog that is either critical of Robyn, The Soft Boys or YepRoc. However, given that I passed along what appears to be inaccurate information to my readers, I feel duty-bound to follow up on my previous post, and I cannot in good conscience not mention these issues in doing so. I wanted to reach out to YepRoc for information before addressing the issue in the interest of fairness and in the hopes that I can pass along accurate information this time. ...

Best,

Pete Bilderback
Flowering Toilet
http://floweringtoilet.blogspot.com

I sent this email to multiple contacts at YepRoc on September 8, 2011, but have not, as yet, received a reply.

I would like to apologize to any of my readers who may have bought this reissue on the basis of the information I passed along. Again, I did so in good faith and with no intent to deceive. I am as disappointed as anyone that this reissue did not live up to YepRoc's promises. I would also like to apologize for not posting an update sooner, but it was my sincere hope that these issues would be resolved by YepRoc, making any complaints about this reissue unnecessary.

Barrett Martin Talks About The Screaming Trees Last Words

2011-08-26T19:00:00.016-04:00

Former Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin.

I recently had the privilege of talking with Barrett Martin, the former drummer for the Screaming Trees who has issued the Trees' Last Words: The Final Recordings on his own Sunyata label. In addition to being available for download at the usual places, Sunyata is currently taking pre-orders for the CD. If you pre-order from Sunyata, you'll get the CD in September, a month before the street date.

Barrett was driving into Sacramento while we chatted, and I was impressed by his ability to discourse intelligently about music while doing something else. Perhaps his multi-tasking skills should not surprise me considering that in addition to being a drummer, he is also an upright bassist, composer, visual artist, music Professor, and an an ordained Zen priest in the Soto tradition.

Barrett's drumming has been much in demand over the years, he did stints with both the Screaming Trees and Seattle grunge-rockers Skin Yard, and he has also drummed for R.E.M., Mad Season, Air, Luna, The Twilight Singers, Queens Of The Stone Age, Stone Temple Pilots, Victoria Williams, Greg Olson and others. Lately he's been known to play in his own, jazz-oriented project, The Barrett Martin Group, as well as the Seattle area bands Visqueen and CoBirds Unite (featuring Pure Joy/Flop frontman Rusty Willoughby).

Me: From what I understand the material on Last Words was recorded in 2000, is that right?

Barrett: No. Let's see, we started in the winter of '98 and finished in the summer of '99.

Me: Okay, so it was recorded a little earlier than I thought.

Barrett: Yeah, we did our last show in June of 2000, but the recordings were done well before that. They were kind of like demos for what would have ended up being another record. But we recorded it on 24 track machine onto two-inch analog tape. It was state-of-the-art recording at the time. So they're really just sophisticated demos.

Me: And what were things like inside the world of The Screaming Trees at that time?

Barrett: It was actually very good. Everybody was clean and sober. We kind of knew that it was the end of the line. But we had this last batch of--actually twelve songs--there are two outtakes that Van Connor is going to release on his new label next year. He's got a singles club, and he's going to release the two outtake songs through that. But we knew we had a good body of new work and we wanted to document it, but it was kind of for posterity's sake. There was a little bit of shopping the demos to try to find another deal, but that never materialized. So that's how it ended.

Me: And when you went back and pulled those out again, was that this year?

Barrett: Yeah, Jack Endino and I were working on my solo record, and I decided to pull the tapes out. We were in a studio with a two-inch tape machine--which is increasingly hard to find by the way--and I said "let's pull those tapes out and have a listen." That was January of this year. We had to bake the tapes in an oven to make the tape pliable again. There's a certain temperature and technique, and Jack knows how to do that. And when we put them on the tape machine the sound quality was actually quite high. So he cleaned the heads and we rolled it onto a hard drive right then and there. We put everything on the hard drive and then we worked from that.

Me: And how did your impressions of the material, listening to it in the year 2011, how did they differ from, or meet, your expectations based on your memories of those recording sessions?

Barrett: My personal opinion on rock and roll is that it has really degenerated over the last decade or so. People don't write good songs anymore, or they're just so eccentric and quirky and proprietary that they don't resonate with the general public in the same way. And so--I'm a person who listens to a lot of music--I'm actually a music Professor now, and I listen to music from all over the world, and I still listen to modern rock and roll and punk and all that stuff. But when I listen to the music of the 90s, with the Screaming Trees just being one example, I like the way the Screaming Trees wrote songs. I like the classical approach to it, the good rhythmic and melodic ideas, the sophisticated lyrics, and approaching the song as the high art form, with the band as the interpreter of the medium. I think that it holds up exceptionally well, and actually in a weird way it's a little more appropriate now because that's really the best way to do it, and I don't hear a lot of bands doing that anymore.

Me: For me, I didn't realize how badly I needed to hear something like a new Screaming Trees album in the year 2011 until I actually heard it. And when I did, I heard a lot of those qualities that I think I had been missing, so I think your observations there are spot on.

Barrett: And I don't think the Screaming Trees were the greatest band of the 90s by any means. But I think what the Trees did was we wrote really good songs and put the priority on the song, and just recorded the song as a rock band. And that is a different approach than what people do now with electronics and [inaudible]. People don't really focus on writing great songs anymore, the approach seems to be more along the lines of "let's make a weird sounding record and claim to be inventing something new," but the classic forms are being forgotten.

Me: One thing that I've noticed is that with the success of the Flaming Lips, who are a band that I actually used to really like quite a lot, and who came out of a similar milieu as the Screaming Trees, but at a certain point everything they did started to become heavily conceptual…

Barrett: Uh-huh.

Me: …and the songs, to my ears, started to become secondary to these concepts that are kind of precious in my opinion.

Barrett: After the Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots album, which was a concept album, and kind of odd, ironically after that they've become more popular. So [laughs] I don't know what the formula is.

Me: I think you're seeing a lot of people following that model because it was successful. When something does become popular, people follow it. But I think part of the problem is, because of the success the Lips have had, that we've seen a lot more conceptual type projects, and solid songwriting has taken a back seat to that.

[At this point, Barrett wisely declines my invitation to blame the Flaming Lips for everything that is wrong with our current "post-rock" malaise.]

Me: Last Words has gotten a lot of positive press, but even within the favorable reviews I've seen complaints about the sound quality. How do you feel about that?

Barrett: I've seen a couple reviews that say that, but I don't really know what they're talking about, because this is analog tape recording, and that's kind of what it sounds like. I think it's actually a pretty "hi-fi" sounding record. And I don't particularly like records that sound shrill and brittle, as so many modern pop records do. I don't really know where that ethos came from. I think it has something to do with digital recording, but I'm quite happy with the sound of the album. Everybody in the band thought that this was a good, meaty sounding, analog record.

The whole thing with reviews too, to be honest with you, I don't take reviews very seriously, even the good ones. Because one of my mentors, Peter Buck from R.E.M., told me a long time ago, "don't even read the reviews because it's one guy, or girl, on a particular day, and it's their very particular opinion." So of course you want to get good reviews, but if there are a few bad ones…whatever. It's really never influenced me in the kind of records I want to make.

Me: To my ears the album sounds fantastic. Maybe it doesn't meet some people's expectations of what a rock album should sound like in the year 2011, but most [new releases], in my opinion, sound pretty bad. As you say, they sound hard, they sound brittle, and they're often compressed to the point that there's no dynamics. Maybe that's the sound that people expect now, but I find the sound of Last Words to be phenomenal.

Barrett: Well it's also mixed by Jack Endino, and he's an incredibly good mixer. You know, he mixes as many records as he produces. And I think you're right, modern digital production has made records sound very shrill and brittle and high-end. I guess if people are listening on their little ear buds, they can't hear the full bass spectrum, or all those fat midranges anyway. And actually the best review I read was the guy who said "my definition of a good record is that you can turn it up louder and louder, and it will sound better and better. And bad records are the ones that the more you turn them up, the more shrill and painful they are." And he said the Trees record is one you can just crank louder and louder, and you hear more and more.

Me: Yeah, that was me.

Barrett: Oh, you wrote that. I didn't know that was your review.

Me: Yeah, that's okay. Yeah, I think so many things today are recorded, mixed and mastered so that they can jump out at you at a low volume, but they become painful to listen to if you try to turn the volume up. And that's unfortunate, because I don't think you can get the full rock and roll experience at a low volume. Volume and dynamics are important elements in rock music.

Barrett: Well, I'll tell you for this record, the albums we were listening to when we mixed it, for reference, we were listening to Physical Graffiti and Who's Next. Jack has a stack of CDs that he puts on as sonic reference points. That was the kind of sound we were going for and those were all analog, two-inch tape recordings.

Me: Yeah and those are the kind of records that came with a note that said "This record is meant to be played LOUD."

Barrett: Right, right, exactly. And there's a whole ethos to that approach, and it's a classic ethos. And that's what I'm talking about, people are forgetting the classic foundations of how to make great rock records. And what they're making are these shrill sounding, disco, rock, pop conundrums [laughs].

Me: One thing I've always wondered about is how hard was it for you to come in and replace Mark Pickerel, who was someone who had his own very unique style of drumming, and who had been with the band since the beginning. How was it for you to step into that seat, and how do you think you changed the band's sound?

Set the wayback machine to 1988. The Screaming Trees before Barrett Martin:
(L-R) Mark Pickerel, Van Connor, Gary Lee Connor, Mark Lanegan.

Barrett: Well, first of all, Mark Pickerel has been a friend of mine since the mid 1980s, so actually it was a pretty easy hand off. And actually Dan Peters from Mudhoney had been playing drums in the interim between when Mark Pickerel quit and when I joined the band. But I didn't try to sound like Mark. I just played the way I play, I never tried to alter the way I play to try to fit the Screaming Tress' sound. I think what happened is the Trees were at a point where they were ready to evolve to a new sound. They had all these new songs that were in a very early development stage, so when I stepped in, I just kind of naturally blended with them. And those were the songs that became the Sweet Oblivion album, which was the big breakthrough album. I think it was a combination of the fact that I'm stylistically different than Mark Pickerel, and the way that I interpreted their songs, it was just a really natural occurrence from both sides of it. So there was no problem in the hand off at all.

Me: Another thing I've wondered about is the fact that there was quite a time-lag between Sweet Oblivion and Dust, what happened during that period?

Barrett: The main thing that happened was that we spent a solid two years on the road promoting Sweet Oblivion. And then we came back to Seattle, and the label was pressuring us to make another record. They wanted us to capitalize on our current success and parlay that into the future. So we had been working on songs on the road, but contrary to what people think, the road is not so romantic. It's actually kind of hard to write songs on the road because you're dealing with surviving on the road, and playing a show every night. And you're usually exhausted and there isn't a huge amount of time to dedicate to writing songs.

So we started to record what we now call "the aborted album" in the early winter of '94. We were working with Don Fleming producing and John Agnello engineering. And they were great guys, they were the same people who did Sweet Oblivion, and it worked for that record. But these sessions just didn't have the same spark. So we scrapped everything, and then it took a while to get George Drakoulias because of his schedule, so we weren't able to start making Dust until '95. So we had two years of touring, a year of trying to record, and then finally getting George onboard, and it took three and half years before the record was done, and by the time it came out it had been almost exactly four years to the date since Sweet Oblivion was released.

Me: And in that time in between a lot of younger bands managed to kind of cash in on the grunge craze. And unfortunately, not a lot of the bands who had been around and were either contemporaries of Nirvana, or even--like the Trees--predated them, not a lot of those bands managed to walk through the door that was opened up. How frustrating was that?

Barrett: You know, it isn't really so much frustrating as it is the way the major labels work. There are always a handful of bands that break through with a new sound. It usually happens about every five years. And you have these larger twenty-year cycles where you have major musical movements. And the major labels just figured out how to capitalize on what the Seattle indie/alternative bands--and not just Seattle, there were bands from New York and Chicago who were doing the same thing--but the major label thing is to take a cool new sound and just water it down and make it commercial drivel, and then surprisingly more people buy that. The more mediocre and watered down a product becomes, the more people buy it. And it's not just in music, it's in literature, it's in film. The dumbest, most poorly-written scripts end up being the biggest movies.

Me: Yeah, there's certainly exceptions to that, but as a rule you're probably right.

Barrett: Yeah, the exceptions are the outliers that are anomalous success stories, and you can't really explain why. Like Nirvana's Nevermind, which now has its big 20th Anniversary, that's a perfect example because that just came out of nowhere.

Me: Well, but it didn't exactly come out of nowhere. There had been a lot of bands building that scene up over the previous years, and the Trees were one of the bands who contributed to that. And it wasn't just them, there were a tremendous amount of bands building up underground recognition for that kind of music, to the point were a David Geffen would even be interested in it. Nirvana was the band that kind of blew things open, but there were a lot of bands that built the foundation for what they did.

Barrett: It came out of a garden of creativity, but what I mean is that that record sounds radically different from any Seattle record prior to it. It's this huge sonic and songwriting leap.

Me: Yeah, it was interesting to me because this all happened just after I graduated from college. I had actually booked [Barrett's previous band] Skin Yard when I was in college.

Barrett: Where did we play?

Me: This was at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.

Barrett: Yeah, we did a lot of college gigs.

Me: You may not remember this one specifically. But I didn't get the kind of turnout I was hoping for at the gig, and it was a little discouraging. And frankly we met with a bit of hostility from certain corners of the college, in particular the frat boy crowd didn't seem to approve of the kind of music we were trying to bring to campus. And then I remember the next year--I went back to visit the school after I had graduated--and Nevermind was blasting out of every frat house on campus.

Barrett: Right, well frat boys are not known for their progressive thinking, but they'll certainly jump on the coattails of something that's already in motion. What I remember from those Skin Yard tours, and we more of a weird, arty kind of band, and we never had any of that commercial crossover. But that's a good example of a sound that precedes what will later come. I did two years of touring with Skin Yard, and we just lived on the road in our little van, playing college gigs and staying at Motel 6's all over the U.S. and Canada.

Me: Yeah, you guys crashed on my floor, but one of you had to go sleep in the van to make sure your gear didn't get stolen.

Barrett: Yeah, one guy always had to stay in the van because of the equipment. But when we went to Europe in Winter of '91, we did tours with Nirvana right after Nevermind came out, and that was the last tour we did, and then we broke up. But when we played in Europe, we would play to a thousand people a night at our own shows. Nirvana was even bigger, but Europe was always more embracing of the new sound. Americans always seem to be a few years behind.

Me: I remember talking to you guys at the time, and you were ecstatic because your latest album, Fist Sized Chunks, had sold 9,000 units. And I was pretty dumb about these things at the time, and I though "Wow, really? 9,000? Is that all?" [laughs]

Barrett: And what's ironic--actually I didn't play on that record, my first was 1,000 Smiling Knuckles, but I toured behind Fist Sized Chunks--but what's ironic is that selling 9 or 10,000 records now is a lot for an indie label.

Me: Yeah, it was a lot for an indie label back then too, and there was probably only a brief period of time where those wouldn't have been considered really good numbers. But you were definitely the drummer on that tour. I remember it well because the auditorium you played in had really high ceilings, and you seemed to be delighted to be able to take the drum sticks and toss them in the air as high as you could and catch them.

Barrett: [Laughs] Yeah, that was my "trick," to see how high I could toss the sticks. When the Trees were finally doing the big stadiums in the mid-to-late 1990s--Lollapalooza, stuff like that--we would have lighting rigs that were 30, 40 feet high, and I would try to get the stick up into the lighting rig. I'd say I caught it 75% of the time, and 25% of the time I missed.

Me: You didn't miss at this show, and you didn't miss a beat either, which was what really impressed me.

Barrett: Really? The great thing is, people love it when you catch the stick, but if you drop it, they kind of love that too.

Me: I thought that was a lot of fun... I should probably let you run, but I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me, so thanks a lot.

Barrett: Thank you so much, and thanks for booking those shows way back in the day.

Me: Well it was my pleasure, I always had a lot of fun doing that.

Barrett: You're a true believer in the movement, even twenty years later.

Me: Absolutely!

The back cover of my Skin Yard "Start At The Top" 7" signed by Barrett,
Jack Endino, Daniel House and the late Ben McMillan way back in the day.

Barrett Martin

2011-08-25T15:36:00.001-04:00

I just had a great chat with former Screaming Trees drummer man Barrett Martin about the Trees new release, Last Words: The Final Recordings and other topics. I'll post the interview here soon. In the meantime, I wanted to pass along word that the CD is now available for pre-order from Barrett's label, Sunyata Records. If you pre-order from Sunyata you'll get the shiny silver disc in your hands a month before street date and be the coolest kid on your block.

R.I.P. - Mike Flanagan

2011-08-25T08:44:00.001-04:00

Mike Flanagan and Earl Weaver after game one of the 1979 World Series.

Orioles great Mike Flanagan was found dead near his home this past Wednesday. The Orioles pitcher, executive and broadcaster was only 59 years old. My heart goes out to his wife and three daughters, and all those who loved him.

I'll refrain from further commentary until more of the facts surrounding his death are known, but this is very sad news for all Orioles fans. Really it's shocking news that I'm still working hard to process.

In the meantime, read this 1991 Baltimore Sun column by Ken Rosenthal begging Orioles management not to deal Flanagan to the Mets at the trade deadline. It gives you a good idea of what Flanagan meant to the franchise and its fans. Later that year Flanagan pitched the final outs at Memorial Stadium.

Screaming Trees - Last Words: The Final Recordings

2011-08-18T12:47:00.004-04:00

The Screaming Trees have a "new" album out. Last Words: The Final Recordings documents some recently mixed demos that the band recorded in 2000 while looking for a new record deal. That new deal never materialized, the band broke up, and the recordings sat on the shelf for eleven years until former Trees drummer Barrett Martin and producer Jack Endino mixed the songs this year. Martin has released the album through his own Sunyata Records label. At the moment the album is only available as a digital download, but CD and LP releases are reportedly in the works. It's currently available for the low, low price of $4.99 at Amazon, and if you don't buy it I'll never forgive you.

I first became aware of this release because my buddy Adam forwarded me a middling review of the album from Pitchfork. Typically, if the dudes at Pitchfork are lukewarm on something it turns out I love it, and this album is no exception. I suspect that if the Trees had been a big influence on The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Animal Collective, or best of all, Kanye West, their music might sound more relevant to Pitchfork tuned ears. But the Trees did something that is absolutely unforgivable from the perspective of your typical Pitchfork reviewer; they rocked. Righteously. And for some people that is just an inherently uncool thing to do.

The Screaming Trees did not create clever deconstructions of popular song forms, instead they embraced heavy, psychedelic rock, and pushed their music to its absolute limits while working squarely within the rock aesthetic. If that does not sound intellectual enough for you, maybe the Screaming Trees are not your kind of band. Personally, I love them, and I think this new album can stand proudly alongside Buzz Factory and Sweet Oblivion as one of the finest of their career.

You'll have to forgive my enthusiasm. I may be a little biased. I watched the Screaming Trees play to an audience of 12 people at a crummy club in Harrisburg, PA back in 1991. (At least four of the people in attendance that night arrived in my car.) If the Trees were disappointed with the turnout, you would never have known it from their performance. It sounded like they made up their minds that even if there were only 12 people in the audience, those 12 paying fans deserved to have their worlds' rocked just as surely as if there were thousands in the club. A few nights later I saw them perform a sold-out show at the old 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., and while they were again fantastic, I think they might have actually rocked harder that night in Harrisburg.

What does that mean? Maybe nothing, but I just like to tell the story because it gives you an idea of what a great, totally committed band the Screaming Trees were.

Most of the other reviews I've read of Last Words have been positive, although they invariably criticize the "warts and all" sound quality. Personally, I think this album sounds great. Yes, it's a touch murkier sounding than their Epic recordings, but it sounds cleaner than anything they released for SST or Sub-Pop. That's more than good enough for me. The album lacks the distracting little production flourishes that producer George Drakoulias brought to their final Epic album, Dust, but to my ears that is a good thing. It's long been my opinion that bands are far more likely to ruin an album through over-production than by leaving things a little on the raw side.

I have a simple criteria for whether an album sounds good or bad. If you constantly find yourself wanting to turn the volume down, you have a bad sounding album. I don't care about clarity, or subtle layering of textures, if my impulse is to turn the volume down, there is something wrong. By contrast, if you constantly find yourself adjusting the volume upwards, you have a good sounding album. By that standard, Last Words is a great sounding album. Every time I play it, I keep cranking the volume.

Nearly as important as the crankability factor, Last Words does not sound like a collection of random demos and left-overs, but plays start-to-finish like an honest-to-goodness album, with subtle shifts in tempo and mood. The songs are uniformly excellent, and Mark Lanegan's singing never sounded better. He had four solo albums under his belt at the time of these recordings, and the added depth of feeling he brings to the material is evident on such songs as "Ash Grey Sunday," "Revelator," and "Black Rose Way." Likewise, Van Connor's guitar playing sounds much less restrained and mannered than it had on 1996's Dust. Barrett Martin's drumming is well-served by the mix, and (as always) is incredibly engaging and propulsive. Meanwhile bassist Gary Lee Connor gets in some catchy bass patterns as well as helping keep things grounded. In addition, there are guest spots from Peter Buck and Josh Homme that thankfully never get in the way of the group dynamic. The Screaming Trees may have been nearing the end of their storied career, but Last Words does not sound like a dying gasp from an artistically spent force. If anything it sounds more vital in 2011 than it might have had it been released in 2000.

I really cannot recommend this album highly enough. I know this "review" is little more than fanboy drivel, but I am a big believer in not pretending to be "objective" about subjects that one's life experience makes it impossible to be objective about.

**UPDATE: For those who still love shiny silver discs, the CD now is available for pre-order from Sunyata Records.

R.I.P. - Bubba Smith

2011-08-04T12:37:00.000-04:00

I can't say I remember him playing for the Baltimore Colts, but I do remember his Miller Light commercials, and my Dad talking about what a great defensive lineman he was.

"I sure hope those horses can swim." That was pure comedy gold.

"Ain't nobody coming that ain't already here" The Blackfire Revelation Story

2011-08-02T09:25:00.003-04:00

I was mightily impressed by the super-heavy, sludgy sound of New Orleans' Blackfire Revelation, who have recently issued their self-titled album digitally. Formed in New Orleans in 2003 by singer/guitarist J.R. Fields and drummer Hank Haney, the group released an EP, Gold and Guns On 51, in 2004 on their own Southern Reconstruction label, and the EP was later re-released by Fat Possum Records. In 2005 the band undertook a long international tour with New York noise rockers Unsane, then not much was heard from them until this year, when their self-titled full-length album appeared as a digital release. The album was actually completed back in 2005, but Fields decided to shelve the project. The reason for the delayed release is a fascinating story in itself, one I had the chance to discuss with Fields recently.

J.R. Fields onstage in France with Blackfire Revelation.

Blackfire Revelation has gotten some rave notices in the underground metal press, and rightfully so. But I think their music has the potential to appeal to those outside the metal audience as well. Fans of Blue Cheer, the MC5, the Stooges, Soundgarden and Green River will find plenty to appreciate in Blackfire Revelations' heavy, sludgy, Southern gumbo.

I had a blast talking with J.R. Fields about Blackfire Revelation, the city of New Orleans, life on the road, as well as Hurricane Katrina and its impact on his life and his band. Blackfire Revelation may be on hiatus now, but the music they made shouldn't be forgotten, nor should what the band went through to create it.

Me: I like both your releases, Gold and Guns On 51 and the new one Blackfire Revelation, but it's not the first music that comes to mind when I think of New Orleans. It sounds a bit more like Detroit 1969 to me.

J.R.: Well, the reason I live in New Orleans is because New Orleans is the freest city in North America. You can pretty much do whatever you want down here, whenever you want to. And I think that comes through in the music. Aside from it being kinda bluesy and kinda Southern, New Orleans has a big influence on what I do. It's raw down here. It's gritty. It could fall to pieces at any time. I feel like a lot of that comes out in our music.

Me: I've never visited New Orleans myself, but I've heard the same thing from many people, that it's the freest city in America.

J.R.: People here have a lot of freedom. You go other places and it seems the farther North you go the more rules there are. You can't drink in the street. Bars close. Down here you're left to self-control, and that can either make you or break you.

Me: It doesn't sound like the kind of place where you have to work hard to fit in.

J.R.: Yeah. I feel like a lot of people down here really aren't concerned with fitting in. We're kinda just lost down here in the swamp. It's really disconnected from the rest of the states. I can tell you from being in a band, versus maybe bands from L.A. or San Francisco, or New York or Boston. We have to drive a full day to pretty much get to any other major market, which would be Austin or Atlanta, which depending on traffic can take up to ten hours to get to either of those cities.

Me: I think, as someone who lives in the Northeast, that's hard for me to relate to. I live in Rhode Island now, and I'm just a few minutes from Providence, and that's just 45 minutes to Boston, and just a few hours to New York. Everything here is very compact, so we have different conception of space here.

J.R.: Right, and if you're a band from up there, you can kinda be a part of the scene in all those towns around you. You're just a few hours from a number of major cities there. Whereas down here, we're a little more isolated. And I think that lends itself to making the bands down here just kinda do our own thing.

Me: Before you formed Blackfire Revelation, I understand that you were in film school at University of New Orleans. What led to you decision to leave school and start a band?

J.R.: I was just sick of college and all the other bullshit. Up until a certain point, I always did what I was "supposed" to be doing. But I worked on a few films, commercials, stuff like that, and I realized I didn't want to be in college, and I didn't want to be in the film industry. What I wanted to do was play in a rock band and travel the world doing crazy shit.

Me: Is that where the "Revelation" in Blackfire Revelation comes from?

J.R.: Actually, Blackfire Revelation, the name, it actually came from a dream that I had right around that time. I had this dream, and there was this fire that was burning black, and the sound that it was making was the sound of tape hiss. And the fire didn't necessarily "speak" to me, but I guess it did, and it told me "Put your faith in music, and follow that, and everything else will fall into place." So, I had a "blackfire revelation," so the next day I thought it would make sense to call the band that.

Me: So you guys put out the Gold And Guns On 51 EP on your own and then on Fat Possum, and then you went on tour with Unsane in 2005, right?

J.R.: Yeah, we did a lot of shows. Over the course of a year-and-a-half we did probably 70 to 80 shows with Unsane in the U.S. and Europe.

Me: And that tour coincided with Katrina hitting. What was that like?

J.R.: Aw, that was crazy, man. You know, my birthday is August 27th, which was two days before Katrina hit. And we were actually playing a show that night in Hickory, North Carolina. We had seen in the news that a hurricane was coming, and we were kinda worried about it, but there had been hurricanes before, and usually they blow a few people's roofs off, and knock a few trees down, and some people stay and some people go, but a few days later everything is business as usual. So we didn't think that much of it.

J.R. Fields of Blackfire Revelation

But we played the show that night, and we then we went back to our hotel afterwards. We checked in around two or three in the morning and we flicked on the T.V. and just saw this behemoth monster that was Katrina just looking like it was about to swallow up the city. And right then we literally just took a shower and went to the front desk to check out and go home. So we left right then and made a beeline for the city. But when we got to Meridian, Mississippi the roads had been converted and all lanes were headed out. They weren't letting anybody into New Orleans. So that kinda started several months of us moving around. We lived in Atlanta for a while, we were in Jackson, Mississippi for a while, we were in Memphis for a while, and we were in Oxford. We could only sit back and watch it play out on T.V.

Me: It sounds like it must have been a surreal experience. It's hard for me to imagine. You must have felt at times like you didn't know if you'd ever be able to go back.

J.R.: Yeah, we didn't. What a lot of people forget is that during the first days, after the city started filling up with water, they were saying on the news that it could take a year for the water to drain out of the city. So everything was really up in the air as to when we would get to go back and if we would ever get to go back. Which is a weird spot to be in. That's a situation that [laughs] you never expect to find yourself in. It's strange when they tell you your city is "closed until further notice." And especially for me, my dog was still in the city, and of course I had friends that were still here, let alone the few worldly possessions that I may prize were still in New Orleans. It was definitely a really strange time.

Me: Did you feel like you had become Wandering Minstrels from the Middle Ages or something?

J.R.: Well, I think maybe we felt like that already being on tour for so long. We were already wandering minstrels if there ever were any. But it's definitely weird just being vagabonds. For a while there we'd just play a show to make a few bucks. Luckily for us the guys from Fat Possum kinda took us in. We went to Oxford where they have a studio with a trailer out back. So we'd just hang out and watch the news and wait to hear something about when we could go home. It was crazy.

Me: I have to ask, was your dog okay?

J.R.: Yeah, he was. It's actually a funny story. He was at my wife's apartment (or my now wife's apartment, she was my girlfriend at the time). She lives above her shop (she has a retail shop here in New Orleans). When they looted Wal-Mart, she went over and grabbed one of those forty-pound bags of dog food. And she took two bins and dumped the food in there, then filled up another bin with five or six gallons of water for him. So she locked him in the store with the food and the water, and he actually saved her store from being looted, because he'd be in there barking through the window. Then after four or five days one of our neighbors was able to get in through a back window and he took the dog. And then he would patrol the block with the dog and a shovel and run off looters.

Me: Wow. [pause] How are things in New Orleans today?

J.R.: They're good…for some people. If you drive around New Orleans, uptown and in the French Quarter, and the older parts of the city, it looks like nothing ever happened. But if you venture into the Ninth Ward up into Lakeview, you'll see buildings that look like the storm just hit them yesterday, and it's been five years…There are still people moving back every day. Maybe they moved away, and now finally have the money to come back, or are just now getting their insurance money. I tell people all the time my son, who was born after Katrina, someday when he drives around New Orleans in fifteen years, he'll still be driving by bombed-out houses from Katrina.

Me: I think that's likely. I grew up outside Washington D.C., and when I was a teenager driving around the city, I'd see sections of the city that were still damaged from the riots that took place after MLK was assassinated a year before I was born. Parts of the city still looked like a war zone all those years later. So those kinds of scars can take a long time to heal.

J.R.: It's going to take a long time. And that's assuming that it doesn't happen again. I ask people all the time as a trick question, "Did you see the press conference where the Mayor and the Governor declared the levees are fixed and it's safe to return now?" But the truth is, that press conference never happened. People were allowed back, and we're still here now, but the levees could break again. There are still major infrastructure problems in this city. We're pretty much just riding this out on luck and the hope that we don't get hit by a storm of that magnitude again.

Me: Do you feel like New Orleans has been forgotten?

J.R.: No, I don't. New Orleans isn't the only place that has this type of shit. If nothing else, I think people should realize that the earth is a dangerous place to live. Look at what just happened in Japan, look at the floods in the Midwest, look at the fires in Arizona. Pretty much anywhere you live there's shit that Mother Nature is going to throw at you, and at the end of the day you really can't depend on the government or anybody else to come fix your problems. The best you can do is to deal with whatever blows Mother Nature deals you the best you can.

Me: I want to talk a little bit about your new release. The album was completed five years ago. Why was there such a delay in releasing it?

J.R.: I basically just shut down the operation. I came back after Katrina, and I wrote that record between October of 2005 and January 2006. Then we recorded the material and did a few tours, but then I just shelved the material to focus on some other things that I wanted to do. I just kinda rediscovered it a few months back, and I feel like it's something that deserves to be out there.

Me: I agree. How did that post-Katrina environment effect your songwriting and the sound of the record?

J.R.: Well, listening back now…I didn't listen to the record at all for three or four years, so listening to it now, I almost feel like I'm a third party. Which is an interesting thing to be able to hear your own music like that. Listening to the lyrics, I feel like every song, either directly or indirectly, states my anger or frustration at what was going on at that time. In the song "Diamond In The Rough" there's this one lyric that says, "Ain't nobody coming that ain't already here." I feel like that was how we felt at the time…here we are buried in bullshit, and the only people who were going to dig us out was ourselves.

There are a number of other lyrics that I feel like touch on the shit that was going on then. And listening to it now, I get comparisons all the time where people say "Oh, this album is so much heavier and angrier than Gold And Guns On 51." But it was a heavier and angrier time.

Me: Absolutely. And I think for me, as a listener, and maybe this goes straight to what the role of art should do, but it really hits you on a visceral level. It makes you feel that in a way that is hard to experience, or at least is a different experience from watching images on T.V., as horrible as those were to watch. I feel like the music on this hits you on a gut level and gives you a different way of processing those events and that environment.

J.R.: Yeah, and you know at the time I didn't say, "I want to make an angry rock record about all this frustrating bullshit." But listening back to it now as a third party, it kinda sounds like that. There are a lot of references on the record to Heaven and Hell. And that really doesn't have as much to do with religion as it does with the fact that anyone's environment at any given time can be Heaven or Hell. And at that time it was a toss-up as to which New Orleans would become, or if it would even survive or not.

Me: Absolutely. And I think it's a better album for not being an intentional, literal statement about post-Katrina New Orleans. I feel like a lot of times when people try to do that kind of thing, it doesn't really work.

J.R.: Yeah. The only song on there that's literally about Katrina is the opening track "Flood." That's the one song on the record that is really directly about the bullshit that was going down. So yeah, like you're saying it's not entirely literal, but it did help me process what was going on at the time.

Me: Do you think that you maybe needed a little bit of distance from it before you were able to put it out there for other people?

J.R.: I think I did, and I think I needed distance from music as a whole at the time. Which is why I've been on break for five years. For a two or three year stretch there we were either on the road or in the studio, or at home busting ass so we could either be on the road or the in the studio. So toward the end of that run there was some other shit I wanted to do in my life, so I had to lay it down to do that.

Me: What are your future plans for Blackfire Revelations, if any?

J.R.: Well, Blackfire Revelation, I'm not gonna say it's over. But Blackfire Revelation, to me, is what I do with Hank. I have a new band that I'm working on now called The Snake and Pony Show. And chances are that any future recordings or live shows I do will be with that band. I'll still play Blackfire Revelation songs, but as far as moving forward it'll be with The Snake And Pony Show.

Me: I'll keep an ear open for that. In the meantime, how can folks get the Blackfire Revelation material? I know it's on iTunes, where else is it?

J.R.: It's available at all major digital music retailers; iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Zune, eMusic. I'm pretty much just doing a full on digital release.

Me: Any plans for a physical release, or will this album only exist online?

J.R.: Just online. It'll probably just stay online. At some point in the future I might like to do a vinyl release if that makes sense financially. But for right now it's just digital.

Me: Well, I hope people get a chance to hear it, because I think it's music that shouldn't be overlooked, and it shouldn't be forgotten, so I'm glad you decided to go ahead and make it available.

J.R.: Well thanks! Like I said, I may not perform as Blackfire Revelation anymore, but if anybody wants to hear those songs, they can come see me live… And I'm hoping to have a Snake And Pony Show record out by the middle of next year.

Me: Well I'm looking forward to hearing more from you, and thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to me today.

J.R.: Well thanks for calling and take care.

J.R. Fields.

HIS YEARS BIRTHDAY

2011-07-30T18:12:00.004-04:00

This Years Model - U.K. Edition (1978 Radar Records)

I found a nice U.K. copy of Elvis Costello and the Attractions' This Years Model on Radar Records on my birthday this year. With its "misprinted" title and color reference bars (which were part of Barney Bubbles' original conception for the cover), I always thought these looked way cooler than the U.S. Columbia edition. I'm told the U.K. version sounds better as well.

The run out groove on side one says "Special pressing No. 003 Ring Moira on 434 3232 For Your Special Prize" and side two says "A Porky Prime Cut." The record is in excellent shape and it was only $10. I've wanted one of these for years, but never saw one at a price I wanted to pay. Another nice find at In Your Ear Records!

This Years Model - U.S. Edition (1978 Columbia Records)

Anyone Else Trying Out Spotify?

2011-07-21T11:22:00.000-04:00

I just got my invite to try Spotify and installed it on my computer at work. I'm still trying to figure out what the limitations are. I just listened to a few songs from Bert Jansch's Toy Balloon album, and right now I'm listening to Davy Graham's Large As Life And Twice As Natural. At one point the program played about 30 seconds of some rap song, which I guess they think I might want to buy. Not sure what I think overall, but at the very least it seems like a good way to preview full tracks before making a purchase decision.

Anyone else in the U.S. trying Spotify out? If so, I'm eager to hear your impressions. I would also love feedback from any readers in the U.K. and Europe who have more experience with Spotify. What do you think of Spotify?

The Harrow & The Harvest (Before and After Coffee Staining)

2011-07-19T08:55:00.007-04:00

This is what my copy of Gillian Welch's The Harrow & The Harvest looked like before coffee staining it this morning:

Here is what it looks like now:

As you can see, the staining gives the cover more of an aged look, but more importantly brings out the natural grain and beauty of the all cotton paper. I like that Gillian and David have left it to their fans to both complete and customize the artwork.

I did not have any Tanzanian Peaberry coffee handy, so I used a bit of extra Goya espresso that I brewed this morning. Since espresso is such a dark coffee, I added two parts water to one part coffee.

Did I mention the music yet? It's a fantastic album. I wish we didn't have to wait eight years for it, but it is beautiful.

The Harrow & The Harvest - How to Coffee-Stain Your Album Cover

2011-07-18T22:42:00.004-04:00

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings show you how to coffee-stain the cover of their new CD, The Harrow & The Harvest:

I think it's pretty cool that so much love went into making the cover of their new CD. They have another video up describing the process behind the production of the letter-pressed cover at Aardvark Letterpress.

Most of the online images of the cover I've seen don't look very much like the actual printed cover. Here is what mine looks like (pre coffee staining).

If I work up the nerve to coffee stain my cover, I'll post an image of that. I realize Gillian says there's no wrong way to do it, but I feel like if there is, I'll find it. Perhaps I need to track down some Tanzanian Peaberry coffee? Would it be wrong to stain a Gillian Welch CD with Goya brand espresso? And what about tea? Would tea-staining be totally against the rules?

Also, from Gillian's website:

A Note About Vinyl

First and foremost, we want all Gillian fans to know that we at Acony Records love and appreciate vinyl, and we realize how important it is to release this album and all of Gillian's albums in this format. Though it is not available at this time, we want to thank you for your outpouring of support for this format and we promise that at some point in the future, all of Gillian's albums will be available on vinyl produced to the highest of standards. Thank you for your patience!

No word yet on whether the record covers should be coffee stained or not. You'll need more coffee to do it, of that I'm sure.

New York Times: Vinyl Revival Article

2011-07-15T15:32:00.002-04:00

I ran across this interesting vinyl revival article on the New York Times website:

''The records -- even on my old turntable -- sound much better, much more like live music,'' said Mr. Ciaramella, a patrolman who pounds out power chords in a rock band when he is not pounding the beat. ''With vinyl, you feel like the band's right in front of you sweating it out. And with CD's, it's like you're in a sterile scientific lab and there's no emotional connection to what you hear. And then there's the full-size album cover art.''

Mr. Ciaramella is not alone. Vinyl records are back in vogue, thanks to an odd alliance of veteran musicians, college-age alternative rockers, rap fans, dance club disk jockeys, recording engineers and audiophiles who have helped revive and strengthen a format all but given up for dead by the musical mainstream.

In the past few years, sales of new vinyl have grown as more LP's have become available. Fifty of the Top 200 albums in a recent issue of Billboard were available on vinyl.

I thought that sounded pretty similar to a lot of the recent articles I've read about the resurgence in vinyl sales. Then I noticed the publication date on the article.... May 7, 1998. This may have been the very first "vinyl revival" article. Thirteen years later and the format is still reviving.

I also noticed that the article was penned by Michael Fremer, who has probably done as much as anyone to aid that reviving process through his staunch advocacy for LPs and high-quality vinyl playback in the pages of Stereophile, as well as on his website musicangle and elsewhere.

dos - number eight (video)

2011-07-15T09:17:00.001-04:00

This is the new dos video that Kira mentioned in our interview.

I picked up dos y dos on vinyl yesterday, and am happy to report it sounds excellent. It's a fantastic pressing (flat, quiet and definitely pressed on-center). It's been pressed on a lovely purple colored vinyl, and not just any old colored vinyl, but special "high-quality European COLOR vinyl"...ohh, la, la. The album was pressed at Pallas in Germany, who has a well-earned reputation for pressing some of the best vinyl records in the world. It also comes with a download card that gives you access to the entire album in MP3@320kps, because even the finest European colored vinyl sounds lousy in the car.

dos y dos

2011-07-12T07:56:00.012-04:00

Today marks the release date of dos y dos, the fourth album by the two bass guitar duo of Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, etc.) and Kira Roessler (Black Flag). It's the first album Mike and Kira have released together since 1996's Justamente Tres on Kill Rock Stars, and the second since their marriage ended in divorce in 1994.

I had the opportunity to speak with Kira about the new dos album and the collaborative process involved in creating it, while also touching on more intangible topics like the nature of commitment. Kira told me that when she was in Black Flag the band's motto was "whatever you do, do it all the way," and it's clear that Kira still lives by that creed, even if the amount of time she has to dedicate to music is now limited by her busy and successful career as a Hollywood dialog editor.

Kira Roessler and Mike Watt.

Kira was very open and easy to interview, but there were times when I could hear flashes of the fierce competitiveness that no doubt served her well as one of the few women in the macho L.A. hardcore scene of the 1980s. She has also clearly used that fierce competitiveness to her advantage in collaborating with Mike Watt, and to push herself to become a better songwriter and bass player.

It took Kira and Mike a long time to develop the songs on dos y dos, and it is easy to hear how much care, thought and passion was put into the album's exquisite arrangements. As Kira says in our interview "There's love, there's hate, it's all in there." It's the band's finest hour so far, and the album can stand proudly alongside anything either Kira or Mike have done in the past.

Me: You and Mike have been doing dos for over 25 years now. What is it that keeps the two of you coming back to this configuration of two basses with occasional vocals?

Kira: Well, I think basically the same thing that started it. We are both so much bass players first. Take away dos and we are [still] such bass players through and through. So for us to play together, that’s the instrument. We're not going to suddenly jump instruments. I've been known to say that people who leave the bass and play guitar are traitors. So that's just me.

But you start with that. You start with the fact that we're bass players through and through. We compose on the bass without any real feeling that [the instrument] hampers our ability to compose. And then you have the fact of just our chemistry, if you will, and the relationship, which has gone from a fascination, through a marriage, through a level of commitment that regardless of marriage and the difficulties of that kind of relationship, there is a pretty deep connection that just doesn't quit.

So it keeps coming back to this. You know, a band is like a marriage, and I think our ability to commit to that is the same thing that made us commit to the marriage. And there's no…I almost can't imagine what it would be like without it. It's a lifelong commitment, just like it is to the bass guitar. Dos is a tribute to the bass guitar, and…the best possible way to do what I'm trying to do.

Now there's all this new stuff added on to it, like the fact that I've learned to be so much better at my craft because of dos. And that just reinforces the desire to keep doing it.

Me: In rock music the bass is typically an under-utilized melodically. Why do you think that is?

Kira: [Laughs] I heard Mike say an interesting thing the other day. He almost implied that it was to keep the power of the bass out of the mix. In other words, that the bass can be so powerful that you have to kind of keep it squashed.

But I think that, just like as I was saying, just as there is a chemistry in our band there's a chemistry in all bands, and often times it is closely connected to who composes the songs and who does the writing. And traditionally that is the guitar player. They tend to be the leaders of the band, the ones who are planting the seeds creatively. I would say, for myself, when I'm playing in a rock band with a guitar player who's written a song, I think it's completely inappropriate for me to try to stand out. The best bass line for the song he's written may be one where I am completely understated.

I often say that one of my favorite bass players is Dusty Hill, because he always does what's exactly right for ZZ Top. He's not necessarily showing off his prowess and his technical skill, he's just doing what's right in the context [of the song]. And I think that is what a good bass player does…you know, [acts as] the grout between the tiles.

Now that doesn't mean it's limited to that. It's just that, as you said, traditionally that's what rock has done. You have a guitar player who writes a line and you have a bass player who either can't, or won't, step all over it to show off their skill and prowess. Occasionally you do, and those aren't my favorite bass players.

Me: For me, with any instrument, when I feel like someone is doing something to show off their technical prowess, it's a turn off.

Kira: Yeah! Exactly! To me it comes down to the emotion. There's no emotion in being fancy-pants and playing a bunch of notes. There's emotion in feeling what's right, and that could be very minimal, and very much full of space and holes. So if you're too busy filling up all the space, you're taking away emotion a lot of times.

Me: Yeah, I definitely agree. But on the other hand, there are some notable exceptions. To name the big one, there's Paul McCartney, who obviously tends to contribute a lot melodically through the bass guitar.

Kira: But he writes the songs!

Me: Yes, exactly.

Kira: Again, when the bass player is the songwriter, and you do see that…[take] Mike's rock bands [for example]...what he does solo wise is the same thing. His bass lines are much more melodic, and are much more important to the song when he is the songwriter. So I think it comes back to that a lot of the time. If the person has any restraint, he's going to allow the song to be what it is, which means deferring to the songwriter. If the drummer writes the song, it's the same thing as far as I’m concerned.

Me: Can you tell me a little bit about your new album dos y dos? What was its genesis, development process, recording, etc.?

Kira: Sure. This record has been a long, long, long time coming. [Laughs] ... That's for a number of reasons, including the more obvious ones like the fact that Mike is an incredibly busy man, and that I work very full-time for a living. So the amount of time that can be applied to the composition of songs at times is hampered. And the composition is the part that is extremely difficult in the case of dos, because to do it right the spaces and the interplay has to be worked out, and nuanced, and massaged. We can't just pull from our traditional bag of tricks. We have to go iteration after iteration to struggle with how to compose the song in such a way that the interplay is there, and so that the songwriter—whichever of us it is—can get what they are trying to get out of it.

So these songs have been evolving for 15 years, basically. The cover song on there, "No Me Quiero Mas," a Selena song, was one we started playing years and years ago. There are a couple of songs that date back maybe even farther.

Oftentimes, when I'm the composer I will write the seed of Mike's part, and he will modify it and make it his own. And when he writes the song, he typically leaves it open for me to write a part, and then we go around a few times on it. But, to make the point clear, the composition is complicated; the obstacles have been numerous in terms of composition.

Now the cool thing is, the upside has been that in the last few years we both have ProTools in our house. We both have the capacity—and he has a studio in his home—we can record one song at a time. The last record, Justamente Tres, we had to get the whole set together and go in and record it in just a day or two.

Me: That was something that I wanted to ask about specifically because, obviously, so much has changed within the music industry, both on the recording and distribution end since the last time you released a record. The previous records you recorded at [Ethan James' studio] Radio Tokyo. And this one was done in ProTools in Mike's home studio, correct?

Kira: Right. That’s correct. What happens is, in a demo kind of way, we can send the material back and forth...It's kind of like the way we did the first record. When we did the first record I lived in Connecticut. We would send cassette tapes back and forth in the mail to compose the songs. Now we send digital files back and forth, and work on the songs that way. And I can work on the songs at 6:30 in the morning, which is what works for me. And he can work whenever he works, and we can evolve the song. And then I go down to his studio to do the actual recording which, as I was saying, is actually the smallest aspect of it.

This time [the process] took so long that there were songs we had to go back and re-record because the sound on the later songs was so different from the sound on the earlier songs. And we wanted the sound of the record to be consistent from top to bottom, so we went back and re-recorded some of the earliest recordings.

Me: So far I've only heard an MP3 preview of the album, but I was very impressed with the sound quality. And I went back and listened to the first two dos records that were recorded in a proper studio, and I think I actually—and not to put down Ethan James at all—but I liked how the new album sounds better.

Kira: It does [sound better]! And it's interesting that you mention that, because I went back and did the same thing recently. Someone who was doing an interview asked for a couple of our old songs to hear, and I brought some of them up. And I was surprised to hear the same thing. Part of that, as I've said, [is because] a lot has changed for Mike and I since then. We have better tools now. My current bass sounds better than what I was using then. We have very good preamps down there that we're recording through.

You know, people can argue the analog digital world, but there is so much more to it than just that. So you've got this issue of top-to-bottom, how my fingers hit the strings, what kind of strings they are, what kind of bass it is, what kind of preamp it is, etc., etc. So it's not Ethan James per se, but how it went from our hands to Ethan…

Me: Right. I think a lot of times people get hung up on that analog digital divide either because it's something that feel like they can understand, or because it's the kind of binary divide that people seem to be attracted to. But you're right, there really is so much more going on than that.

Kira: Frankly, I don’t think most people could hear the difference. [Laughs] I really don't.

Me: I think you're probably right.

Kira: If you take a good quality recording of both, and give a person some good quality headphones, or speakers, and sit them in front of them, and do a compare and contrast. You know, your audiophile, your top 1% audiophile is going to hear the difference.

Me: Yeah, but…Steve Albini might take issue with both of us on this point.

Kira: [Laughs] He certainly would! And I would be happy to argue with Steve! I've recorded a record with Steve, and I take issue with some of the ways that he does things too…He's a good example of what I'm talking about. His strategy in being an engineer or…producer is very much to let the band hang themselves, if that's what they're going to do. Ethan James let dos sound the way dos sounded, and Albini would do the same. And Mike and I, given that we had this environment, this song by song crafting, had the ability to overcome some of the mistakes that we might not be able to overcome if we were to work through someone like that. Because we have to figure out what's working and not working and hear it back, hear what we're doing right, hear what we're doing wrong, take it away, come back.

Me: I'm intrigued by the title of the album for a couple of reasons. One of the things that the title brings to mind for me is dancing (as in "swing your partner dosey doe.") Was that a connotation you had in mind on any level?

Kira: [Laughs] No. Dos y dos equals quattro, and it's our fourth record. We have this sort of thing going with the records being somewhat titled after the number, and this one is our fourth. Our last record, Justamente Tres, was we thought going to be the last dos album, so we thought it was going to be "just three." So no, the dancing tie in I don't think was really there, but mathematics, the Spanish mathematics, absolutely.

Me: So maybe this is your mathematical background creeping in?

Kira: Well, Mike actually gave it the title, so I take no credit.

Me: The reason that it brings to mind dance for me is because, having listened to the album, there is an almost dance like quality to it. I'm thinking of dancing that involves partnership, and what you have is a similar kind of musical partnership. There's been a conversational quality to all of the dos albums, but with this one, to me, there is almost a dance-like quality to it. Not dancing as in going out clubbing, obviously, but there is a certain fleetness of foot to this album.

Kira: Well that's kind of what I'm saying about the interplay and composition, and I think Mike and I are getting better at it. You can hear this evolution of us being able to execute what we've been trying to do all along, which is that interplay, that fleetness of foot and lightness without getting bogged down in the fact that we're using these heavy low-end instruments. [We want to] still have the full frequency that the instrument is capable of, but without stepping all over each other. Which is a good dancing analogy too, that's when it doesn't work, if you’re stepping on each others' toes.

So we have to somehow compositionally work around each other, and I think we're both getting better at that. And we fight and struggle with that. You don't know how hard it is! And he's constantly, even more than me, saying, "no that’s too busy, we're stepping on each other." So we're constantly stripping things out of it, and it's weird to keep pulling stuff out until it feels like there's hardly anything left. But that's the exercise from the beginning when we're throwing stuff at each other; it's an editing process, we keep pulling stuff out until it has that sort of lightness to it.

Me: Listening to this, when I close my eyes, it was almost as if I could picture Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on the dance floor because of that very quality that you're describing. I think it's remarkably well done from that perspective.

Kira: Well that's cool because that is what we're going for. I think we're getting better at it, and I think it has made me a much better bass player when I write for guitar music, or other music, because I've learned to be better at finding the spaces. I've learned to be better at not stepping on the guitar player's toes. It's also really helped me in my teaching. I do some bass lessons, and when I have students who aren't just starting out, I work really hard with them on not writing just the obvious, traditional, bass lines in their rock music, but actually stretching the limits a little bit and finding spaces and leaving holes. So it's become a big part of how I think, and play bass regardless of dos.

Me: Another thing I noticed about the new album is that it was much harder for me to tell your playing and Mike's playing apart. On the previous albums usually I could listen and say, "okay that's a Mike thing," or "that’s a Kira thing," but here there is a fluidity and seamlessness between the two of you, and the way that you exchange ideas, that seems a bit different this time.

Kira: [Laughs] That's funny, because I think we do play differently. I think one of the things that's better—and I think that is a better thing that you're describing—is that the sound of our basses are better, and they match better, and we're better able to…take care of the sonic qualities, and make sure everything sounds balanced, and that nobody stands out too much one way or another, good or bad. We wanted it to sound more like interplay than competing. But it is in some ways still a duel as well. [Laughs] I mean it's war! I don’t know if you can tell, but it's war!

Kira and Mike go to war!

Me: I can hear that too. But mostly I hear an exchange of ideas...

Kira: There is! There's love, there's hate, it's all in there. But what I meant by that is that we are obviously in really different places in our lives. Mike plays all the time, every day, hours and hours a day he's playing on stage. And I'm fighting and battling all the time to find half and hour before work to play my bass. So I can't slide. Ever since I was 6 and I had a big brother, and we both played piano, there's been this vicious competitive streak in me, that just says that I can't show that I’m not as much. When I joined Black Flag, it was the same thing. I [felt I couldn't] show that because I'm a girl, I'm weak. There's this constant thing of not wanting to show any weakness. It's probably a huge character flaw! But I also try to benefit from it and use it as motivation, because just recognizing it as a character flaw doesn't necessarily make it go away.

Me: Do you know what Ginger Rogers said about dancing with Fred Astaire?

Kira: No.

Me: She said, "I did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels." [Ed. note, I misattributed this quote to Ginger Rogers, it was apparently first used by cartoonist Bob Thaves in his comic strip Frank And Ernest.]

Kira: There you go! And I'll just say with hands half the size of Mike Watt!

Me: Right! But that is something that's interesting. I mean, playing with Mike Watt, you've obviously, despite other demands on your time, you've kept your playing at a very high level. Playing with Mike Watt, that's like stepping onto the tennis court with Pete Sampras or something. You can't be out of practice and hope to keep up.

Kira: It's challenging. It really is. And I of course, my personality is such that I feel the competitive aspect a lot more than Mike does. I think it's hard for Mike to imagine being on the other side of the tennis court. And I don't think he is necessarily enforcing it, or creating it, it's just there. Luckily I have all these years of fighting this battle, so I practice a lot. We have a dos gig coming up and I'm practicing all the time. Mike's hands are in shape already. All he has to do is remember the parts. I have to get my hands stronger and more mobile, as well as remember all those parts, because I don't play dos all the time. It's interesting. We'll get together and practice, and my biggest challenge often is the implementation, and his will be to remember his parts. He has a million other songs in his head that he has to push aside. And I have the problem of just getting my fingers to do what I'm telling them to do.

Me: Well, in my mind, and I'm sure the mind of anyone who's followed your career, you have nothing to prove. But it sounds like you still feel like you do, like that hunger is still there.

Kira: Well, it's like you said, if I'm going to get on the tennis court with whoever…I just can't let up. It's not so much about proving myself as it is that I can't go out on the court without stretching, or not have done as much prep as I can do. I don't want to go out there and look like I'm not even trying. So there's this feeling of I have to do my part. And, yeah, there's a part of me that worries I won't succeed. I literally work 60-hour weeks. I literally have these huge obstacles in the way of just being prepared as best I can to be on the other side of the tennis court.

Me: Your main job is as a film dialog editor, correct?

Kira: Right. Dialog and ADR [automated dialog replacement].

Me: Do you like that?

Kira: I do. I'm paid well. It's something that is sometimes, but not always, creative. I've worked my way up in this field and had some career success, which is affirming. The problem with that is that in the old days I had big breaks between projects, and now those come fewer and further between. The pain of success is that I keep getting offered great work, such great work that I feel I can't turn it down, even if I might like to have a break. So even if I can maybe afford to take a break, I can't turn the work down because it's such a great opportunity. So things are going really well in that way, but that also makes it harder to find those little breaks to do more music stuff. But I do like it, and I've had some success at it, which is that job satisfaction that we all want.

Me: Absolutely, and I've seen some of the projects you've worked on, so it's obvious to me that you've risen to the very top of your field. How hard was it for you to transition into a career away from music?

Kira: Well I've never done music for a living. So maybe that's helped. My last quarter at UCLA was after I was asked to leave Black Flag, so I had to get work right out of school. I was in computers for 11 years, because that's what I studied. This wasn't on my radar at that time. So I was working in the corporate world, and not really enjoying it that much…and then I met someone who was running a really small sound house who my brother was doing some composing for. So in a musical context, because they asked me to do some bass work, I met this guy, and we got to be friends, and I started begging him to hire me at the absolute lowest level. I took a three quarter pay cut just to start at the bottom and work my way up in a new field. But I've always worked, and it's always been a struggle to balance that with playing bass.

Me: It's interesting because back when I was kid in high school and buying independent releases by bands like Black Flag or the Minutemen, I think I had a very unrealistic idea of what the financial situation was like for bands in that position. As far as I was concerned, I was buying these albums at the same record stores where you could buy a Bon Jovi, or whatever, record. I knew those bands weren't making Bon Jovi money, but it wasn't until I read Our Band Could Be Your Life that it fully dawned on me just how financially deprived that lifestyle actually was.

Kira: Yeah. And, you know, it hit me pretty early that I didn't want to be another starving artist because I have an older brother who sort of chose that route.

Me: That's Paul [Roessler]?

Kira: Yeah. And so I had a little sense that that wasn't the life for me. And I had already been doing it. I was at UCLA working my tail off, and then touring. So for me keeping those balls in the air was almost normal. I mean, I was in high school and gigging and staying out all night. I think my brother and I almost have opposite philosophical ideas about this; for me it doesn't take away from my artistic integrity that I go to school or work, and he had this attitude of if you're a true artist you dedicate your life and soul to it, even if you starve. I always believed I still existed in that realm even if I couldn't always be holding my bass.

Me: Not having been blessed with any artistic talent whatsoever, this has never been a dilemma for me, so I suppose it's hard for me to relate to. But there has always been something about the "starving artist" ideal that struck me as...I don't know…adolescent.

Kira: [Laughs] Well I understand that, and yet there are people who truly believe that. My brother truly has some, and we know others, painters, where there's a disconnect that almost makes them unable to go and work. And they think of themselves as literally not having the capacity to do that. Now, I agree with you, there are times when I say "Oh come on!" And yet we know that through the ages there have been artists who just bled and sweated all over their art and couldn't do anything else.

Me: Oh yeah, absolutely. And God bless those people, and I believe the world is a better place for having them in it. So what I said wasn't meant to denigrate anyone, it's just that it's a hard mentality for me to understand fully.

Kira: And it is for me too, because it was never how I wanted to live. But, if when I finished school, if I was still in Black Flag, I would not have started to work. That was the only time where I was ready to try that. At the time I considered what I was doing at school as a backup plan.

Me: So when you were in Black Flag, you did see that as a potential lifestyle?

Kira: Well, to give it some context, [the attitude in] Black Flag was "whatever you do, do it all the way." That's what my tattoo means to me. That's what I believed. So I did believe that's what it would take to continue on in Black Flag. And I had made the decision that I was going to give it my all. I didn't think of it, frankly, as a forever thing. I just thought, "I'm going to give this a chance." Because my time at UCLA was killing me. So I liked the idea of finally just getting a break from that, and committing to Black Flag full time without school hanging over all our heads, affecting our tour schedules, which was a pain in the butt.

So giving Black Flag my full effort seemed appropriate and right. Was it how I wanted to live? Not necessarily. But I was at least going to give it a chance, because I hadn't yet. UCLA was sucking me dry. And it was sucking Black Flag dry too, because of our tour schedule. We were doing miserable tours, because to accommodate my schoolwork we could only tour in the winter and summer. And the best time to tour is in the spring and fall. But I had to maintain a certain number of quarters at UCLA to maintain my student status…

Me: What do listen to these days, especially in terms of new music?

Kira: Jeez, new music! I like the new Melvins. I don't even know if it's their newest one anymore, The Bride Screamed Murder. Recently I've been listening to things that have been around for a while, but hadn't been on my radar. So it's kind of embarrassing to admit…

Me: I don't think that's anything to be embarrassed by. That might have embarrassed me at a certain point in my life, but not now.

Kira: Yeah, but some of this stuff has been around for a long time. One of my recent absolute favorites is The Evens, which is Ian MacKaye's band with his wife [Amy Farina]. They've been around forever, but I just hadn't checked them out. I really love some of these smaller bands, which is not surprising since I'm in a two-person band. The Evens are a two-person band, Mates Of State is another two-person band I really like. Although I recently saw video of them on stage, and they had a bunch of other people on stage with them, and I was like, "What the hell? I thought you were a two-person band!" I love them.

I like Latin music. I like Albita, who's a Cubana singer. I listen to her a lot, as well as Shakira when she does not her crossover stuff, but her Columbian roots music. I listen to Spanish radio mostly when I'm driving on my very short commute to work.

I've got a list of things that I'm constantly trying to check out. I have two nephews who are in their 20s, and they're a little more in touch, and they make suggestions all the time. They turned me on to Bright Eyes, who I really like.

Me: Back to the new dos album, I see that you have a vinyl release planned.

Kira: Yes, I have it in hand. We have CDs and vinyl, and there will also be download capability. Everything is being released on July 12th. We have a record release party scheduled in Pedro. We have a video, which will be exclusively premiered at the party, then we'll make it available elsewhere. It's fun because it has been so long, and like you said, because there are all these new technologies, and at the same time there's a resurgence of interest in vinyl. So we're having a good time promoting a new album, we've got a couple of gigs coming up. But we're happy to give this album the love that it deserves, despite the demands on our time. He's in Europe, but he'll be back in time for the record release party...

Me: I should probably let you go, but I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to talk to me...I think you and Mike have created something really special with this new album, and I hope this interview will help bring it some of the attention it deserves.

Kira: Well thank you very much for taking your time out, and I enjoyed the interview.

R.I.P. - Manuel Galbán

2011-07-11T13:07:00.002-04:00

Manuel Galbán died as a result of cardiac arrest at the age of 80 at his home in Havana, Cuba on July 7, 2011. Galbán is best known in the U.S. for his guitar work on various Buena Vista Social Club projects. But he is perhaps better known in his native country for his time as guitarist and musical director of Los Zafiros, one of the most popular Cuban groups of all time. He was the last of two surviving members of the popular vocal group that fused American styled, doo-wop, close harmony singing with a distinctly Afro-Cuban groove, and one of a sadly dwindling number of Buena Vista Social Club alumni.

Billboard Magazine reached the lone surviving Zafiro, Miguel Cancio, at his home in Miami on Friday for comment: "There was something unique and so beautiful about his sound...Galbán was like a one-man orchestra. Meeting him was the best thing that could have happened to us as a band," said Cancio.

This video is one of my absolute favorite things on YouTube, and in it you can see a young Galbán on guitar:

If you don't already own them, I highly recommend picking up the album Galbán recorded with Ry Cooder in 2003, Mambo Sinuendo, as well as the compilation album Bossa Cubana, which collects some of Los Zafiros' best recordings.

Galbán is survived by his wife, Magda, and daughters, Taby and Leyva. My thoughts go out to them.

Vinyl Sales Growth Continues

2011-07-11T12:11:00.000-04:00

According to Digital Music News, vinyl record sales are up 41% over the first half of 2011. This follows a reported 14% growth rate for the year 2010. I've expressed pretty deep skepticism about the sustainability of the so-called vinyl revival, so it's interesting to see vinyl sales have not yet reached any kind of plateau.

It's hard for me to know exactly where this growth is coming from.

I have a few friends who, like me, buy vinyl records. But none of us ever ditched our turntables or stopped buying vinyl records, so I doubt we are contributing to any serious growth. Also, we mostly buy used records with a smattering of new releases mixed in. And any of the stories you see about sales growth for vinyl records, of course, only relate to new LP sales. But most people I know have no idea that you can buy vinyl records of new releases in the year 2011.

Sometimes I'll talk to someone who will say something like "I'd like to get a turntable again," but they don't seem particularly serious about it. When they say it, it sounds like some vague but unobtainable ambition, like saying "One of these days I'd really like to sail around the world in a Sunfish."

So maybe it really is the young whippersnappers fueling this growth?

R.I.P. - Bob Sklar

2011-07-07T11:14:00.002-04:00

Film Historian Robert Sklar, 1936-2011

I was deeply saddened this morning to receive the news that respected film historian Robert Sklar died on July 2, 2011 as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycling accident in Barcelona.

Bob is best known for his book Movie Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies, which was one of the key texts in establishing film studies as a serious discipline. Prior to Bob's book, most film history texts were largely anecdotal in nature, and few seriously attempted to place film in a broader historical and cultural context. Bob showed how Hollywood film not only reflected the society in which it was produced, but more importantly how it could also serve as a catalyst and shaper of values and attitudes within that society. It's a work of penetrating genius, and remains a standard text in the field that has influenced generations of film historians and others who seek to take film seriously.

I was a student of Bob's at NYU in the 1990s, where he taught in the Department of Cinema Studies for 33 years. My own dissertation was a much feebler attempt to make sense of American musical films of the 1930s by placing them in a broader social, cultural and historical context. I would not have even been able to think seriously about the subject in this context were it not for the model provided by Bob's own pioneering efforts in the field, and I was honored when Bob agreed to serve as a reader on my dissertation committee.

Bob's advice, and more importantly his support, were critical to my being able to complete a tough and thankless task, and I will be forever indebted to him for that. I was extremely grateful for every second that Bob allowed me to pick his brilliant mind. Despite his brilliance, Bob was an warm and approachable person, and he always took what I had to say seriously, even when he disagreed with me.

My deepest sympathies go out to Bob's wife Adrienne, his entire family, as well as the many former students who I know Bob remained close to.

I Really Hate Off-Center Pressings!

2011-07-01T13:53:00.000-04:00

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I am a big-time record nerd. I love records. I love everything about records. Almost. There is one thing I do not love, and that is LPs that are pressed off-center.

Of all the problems that can plague LPs, off-center pressings are in my opinion the worst. Yes, warped records are a pain, and so are ones that are scratched and noisy. But those can usually be returned for a better copy. But, in my experience, if an LP is pressed off-center, then the whole batch of LPs will have been pressed off-center as well. And since most new LPs are released in fairly limited runs these days, that typically means that all of them will be off center. I have learned the hard way that when you get an off-center pressing, the replacement copy will also almost always be off-center as well, so will the replacement for that one, and so on...

I don't expect LPs to sound like CDs (for better and for worse). I'm not one of these people who complains anytime there is a slight bit of surface noise on an LP, or if it is not perfectly flat. But I cannot tolerate off-center pressings. LP noise (clicks, pops, etc.) is typically intermittent and I can generally tune it out. Also, a lot of times an album that has a few clicks or pops on first play will start to play quietly after a good cleaning and a few plays. Likewise, a good turntable/tonearm/cartridge combo can play through minor warps without too much sonic damage. But off-center pressings affect the sound quality of the entire LP and create a horrible, warbling tone (from excessive wow and flutter). And aside from the old Nakamichi Dragon CT turntable, even the best turntable set up will sound horrible playing an off-center LP.

I can only listen to an off-center LP for a few seconds before wanting to crawl out of my skin. Sadly, the only "fix" is to ream out a larger spindle hole on the record and then manually center the LP every time you want to play it. To call this is a major PITA would be a serious understatement.

How much so I hate off-center pressings? Enough that I posted a demo video on youtube using Panda Bear's Tomboy LP as an example (see above).

Wilco - I Might

2011-06-30T12:16:00.000-04:00

The new Wilco single is available for preview. On first listen it sounds very good to me, I particularly like the sunshine flavored backing vocals.

Loudness War Research

2011-06-28T14:44:00.005-04:00

There's an interesting article up on Digital Music News about the Loudness War in popular music (i.e. the tendency for released music to have less and less dynamic range over the years). While this is a topic that has been written about quite a bit over the past several years (including a lot of bellyaching from yours truly), most of the assertions about loudness and popular music are merely anecdotal in nature with little hard data to back them up.

Two graduate students at Rutgers University, Shaun Ellis and Tom Engelhardt, are looking to change that, having recently released a trove of data related to chart-topping songs dating back to 1960:

They scanned an exhaustive range of attributes related to top-ranked songs, including tempo, time signature, key, and chord progressions. The Echo Nest offered quite a bit of data, algorithms, and API-related assistance.

Unsurprisingly, lots of hit songs share common attributes, especially elements like verse-chorus-verse and 4/4 time signatures. But since the 1960s, there's been a clear march towards louder, fuller, more blaring music.

Ellis & Engelhardt chart the rising volume of popular music. (From Digital Music News)

The chart above shows Ellis and Engelhardt's data relating to the average dB of popular songs from 1968 to 2010, and the relatively linear increase in volume is clear.

The chart is interesting to me because if the data is accurate, it does not support many of the conventional assumptions about the loudness war (including my own). The main culprits in most explanations as to why music has gotten louder over the years are usually related to technology, and especially the advent of digital recording, mastering and playback. However, the data here doesn't fully support such explanations. If anything, you can see a slight (albeit temporary) dip in volume levels during the early years of the CD era (the years 1990 to 1998 are the only sustained period where the actual data falls below the averaging curve). And the biggest jump occurs between 1998 and 2001 just before the iPod was introduced. If anything there's been a slight dip in volume levels since the introduction of the iPod in 2001 (which was the loudest year for popular music according to Ellis and Engelhardt's data). Looking at this chart makes me think we ought to be cautious in accepting any explanation that blames a particular technology (be it CD, CD changer, iPod, etc.) because the rise is fairly consistent across a long period of time that saw various technologies come and go.

It's also interesting to note what looks like a sharp drop in volume between 2009 and 2010. This might represent a reaction to the numerous complaints about the loudness war from consumers, music critics and bloggers, or it might be a momentary blip. Given the consistent rise in volume since 1968, despite year to year variation, at the moment I would consider it nothing more than a bit of statistical noise. I'm certainly not ready to declare the loudness war "over" based on what I see here.

Now with that said, there are a number of questions about Ellis and Engelhardt's methodology that I would want to know the answers to before coming to any serious conclusions based on their research. First and foremost I would want to know how they measured the average dB of the songs they selected, as well as the methodology for choosing which songs to measure in the first place. At the moment it does not appear as though they have released this data. It's fairly easy to get data like this from a CD release, but it's much harder to get it from an LP or 45 RPM single. Further, the same songs were often more compressed (louder) on 45 RPM single releases than they were on LP versions. Which versions did they choose to measure, and was this done in an organized and consistent way?

Another thing to consider is the data represented in this graph only apparently relates to hit songs, not to reissues of older music, which is one of the things about the loudness war that bugs me most. It's one thing for new hit music to be recorded, mixed and mastered to have little dynamic range, but it's another thing when older music gets the dynamic range sucked out of it to keep pace with current trends. The data also presumably only relates to charting songs, not full albums or less popular music.

Nevertheless, whatever its limitations, Ellis and Engelhardt's data is interesting, and provides some welcome quantification to a phenomenon that has been greatly discussed, but is probably still not well understood.

KA-CHUNK!! Records - Annapolis, Maryland

2011-06-25T10:52:00.003-04:00

Exterior of KA-CHUNK!! Records, 78 Maryland Ave. Annapolis, MD

I grew up near Annapolis, MD and still visit often as both my parents and brother still live in the area. But for the past 10 years or so I've been quite distressed that my ancestral home has not had anything resembling a real record store. I hate to think about the youth of Annapolis having nothing to do but pursue such wholesome pastimes as sailing and lacrosse. I'm happy to report there is now an establishment where you can buy records from Billy Childish, Mudhoney, Big Black and many other corrupting influences: KA-CHUNK!! Records in downtown Annapolis.

I stopped by their location at 78 Maryland Ave. (a spot I remember from long ago as home to Timmy's Restaurant), but unfortunately Monday is the only day of the week KA-CHUNK!! is closed. Not a problem. Owner Matt Mona was inside and after he spotting me peeking through the window he invited me in to explore.

The focus of KA-CHUNK!! is very much on vinyl. Matt stocks tons of new indie and reissue vinyl, more in fact than I can recall seeing at any other retail location. Matt is very knowledgeable about music (he knows for instance that Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge is Mudhoney's best album), and the store has something of a curated feel. I don't recall seeing a larger selection of Billy Childish records anywhere, and as it turns out Matt is a fan. The records are remarkably well organized with dividers for nearly every artist in stock. There are a few well selected CDs as well, but vinyl is king at KA-CHUNK!!

Interior of KA-CHUNK!! Records

The selection of used records is a little light, although I did spot a copy of Pentangle's Sweet Child in a stack of records on the floor (I already own it, but if you don't go grab it!). Matt tells me he is looking to acquire more used records, but is having trouble finding high quality collections in the area for sale, so if you're in the Annapolis area and are looking to unload your collection of Hated, Moss Icon, Spastic Rats, Minor Threat, Trouble Funk and Crippled Pilgrims records, talk to Matt before dumping them at Goodwill.

I picked up a copy of the Baltimore duo Beach House's eponymous debut on vinyl (I wanted to keep things local) as well as the limited edition Mudhoney live album Live Mud that I somehow missed out on when Sub Pop was selling it through their webstore back in 2007 (I was surprised the download code for MP3s was still active, thanks Sub Pop). I was tempted by a number of other records including the latest reissue of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, a reissue of the Clash's first UK LP, and several Billy Childish albums (including a couple Milkshakes reissues). I also spotted several copies of the Flaming Lips' LP box set that was released for Record Store Day, along with a few other Record Store Day exclusives. If you are looking for the latest indie vinyl like the new Fleet Foxes album, chances are very high KA-CHUNK!! will have it in stock at a reasonable price. In addition to vinyl records, Matt also sells reasonably-priced audiophile turntables from Pro-Ject, which are a great, fun and easy way to discover what the magic of vinyl records is all about. In addition, the back of the store features a beautiful collection of reasonably priced concert screen prints.

If you told me in 1992 (when I last lived in Annapolis) that in the year 2011 I would be able to shop at a record store in downtown Annapolis that focused almost exclusively on vinyl records I would have told you to put down the crack pipe. Stories about the "vinyl revival" have become so commonplace it is easy to forget just how unlikely the format's survival seemed not too long ago. It's really great to see a new generation of record stores emerging that are run by people like Matt with both a passion for music and vinyl records. It's locations like KA-CHUNK!! where the real story of the "vinyl revival" is being written. I recommend checking it out for yourself.

R.I.P. Clarence Clemons

2011-06-20T04:55:00.000-04:00

Worst Album Covers?

2011-06-13T12:59:00.000-04:00

I've seen many of lists of "worst album covers ever," but I don't think I've ever seen either of these two show up on any of them. They deserve consideration, at the very least.

The only thing that could make this one worse is if the baby wasn't holding a blanket.


Guys, couldn't you have just smeared clam dip on Karl's naked body again?

Feel free to make your own nominations in the comments.

Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music

2011-06-11T15:06:00.001-04:00

Ever since I first heard Fairport Convention many years ago, I've been a fan of British folk and folk rock, especially the weirder stuff from the 60s. As such, I'm looking forward to reading Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music while I'm on vacation. In the meantime, I've been listening to lots of Pentangle, Fairport, Vashti Bunyan, Incredible String Band, and even Dr. Strangely Strange in preparation.

My friend Scott Timberg interviewed author Rob Young for the LA Times as well as on his blog [you'll find a link to the Times piece on his blog]. I have to give Scott credit, his writing on the topic is much more intelligent and insightful than the shallow nonsense Bill Wyman (not the Stone) wrote for the New York Times.

Analog Underground - One Year Anniversary Party

2011-06-11T13:00:00.002-04:00

For those in the Providence area.

Analog Underground is ONE.

Sorry for the late warning, but BIG GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION TODAY & HAPPENING NOW

$3 records are $1
$5 are 5 for $20
$1 are .25
and %10 off everything.

Hi, We're The Popes

2011-06-09T12:53:00.006-04:00

The Popes are another one of those largely forgotten late 80s "alternative" rock bands. In fact, they're so forgotten they don't even show up on the All Music website (the only Popes you'll find there is Shane McGowan's band). Their self-released 1988 EP, Hi, We're The Popes, may represent the band's entire released output, although they might have put out a single or a couple compilation tracks as well. I've heard rumors that they recorded a full-length album for major label subsidiary First Warning, but it was never released. (Those who have heard the tapes say they're great.)

The Popes hailed from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it was that Chapel Hill connection that brought them to my attention. Back when I worked at my college radio station I helped put together a multiple act show with my friend David Brower. David, a Chapel Hill native, booked The Popes and another NC band, Vanilla Trainwreck. I booked a couple local Pennsylvania bands, The Stump Wizards and Thee Cellar Dwellars, as well another PA garage rock act who shall remain nameless. There might have been another act on the bill as well, I can't remember for sure.

From what I remember, it was the music of The Popes that went over the best with the audience that night, and listening to Hi, We're The Popes today it is easy to hear why. I'm amazed at just how well this humble (hummable) little indie-pop EP stands up. Some might say it's a little under-produced, but I find that part of its considerable charm. Despite the fact that I hadn't listened to this record in 20 years or so songs like "Charmless" and "Marilyn" were still firmly lodged in my musical subconscious; musical fashions may change over the years, but catchy is forever.

Hi, We're The Popes neatly encapsulates everything that was fun, nice and good about late 80s collegiate rock, and if I wanted to explain what the whole thing was about to some alien ethnographer, I could do worse than simply hand them a copy of this EP.

Monkey Business: Life In The Rock And Roll Zoo With Don Fleming And The Velvet Monkeys

2011-06-07T07:58:00.003-04:00

The Velvet Monkeys circa 1982; Elaine Barnes, Don Fleming, Jay Spiegel and Steven Soles

Earlier this spring I mentioned the upcoming digital reissue of The Velvet Monkeys' seminal 1982 cassette release, Everything Is Right. The album is now available for download from the usual suspects (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, etc.) and at long last is available on a format other than cassette. Additionally, on July 5th the album will be issued as a limited edition CD by Thick Syrup Records.

I had a chat with Velvet Monkey frontman Don Fleming about the reissue and other topics. I think Don appreciated my sense of humor in basing my earlier post around my search for the so-called "Missing Link" or "Fifth Monkey," Dr. Rhythm, the band's original drummer (who was in fact an early analog Roland drum machine--sorry folks, there is only so long I can milk a gag). And when I was offered the opportunity to interview Don, I jumped at the chance.

Don Fleming hardly needs any introduction, in addition to fronting the Velvet Monkeys, Don later led B.A.L.L. and Gumball, and was a member of Half Japanese, Dinosaur Jr., the Richard Hell led supergroup Dim Stars, as well as Tom Smith's To Live And Shave In L.A. He's also produced albums for artists as diverse as Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, The Screaming Trees, Alice Cooper, Pete Yorn, Sonic Youth, Andrew W.K., Hole, Jenni Muldaur, Joan Jett, and Nancy Sinatra. More impressive than the diversity of talent he's produced is the fact that a surprisingly high percentage of the time Don managed to coax career defining performances out of these artists.

Before I get into the interview, I wanted to say a few words about the music on Everything Is Right, as some of my readers may be wondering why I am making such a big deal about the reissue of a cassette only release from the early 80s.

The short answer is "because it is a big deal." When Everything Is Right was first issued in July of 1982, the American rock underground was still in its infancy. The network of independent record labels and local scenes that would eventually coalesce into what is often called "alternative" or "indie" rock was in a state equivalent to a primordial soup. There were a wide variety of different sounds and ideas floating around, bumping into each other, and creating new sounds and ideas on a daily basis. It was an exciting time.

In addition, the DIY aesthetic of punk had only recently made it feasible for bands to self-release music, and new independent record labels were cropping up across the United States to document newly fertile local music scenes. And right there in the middle of one of the most fertile local music scenes of the early 80s, the Washington D.C. scene that produced harDCore, Go-Go Music, as well as an arty mix of punk, garage rock and pop, were the Velvet Monkeys.

What most strikes me listening to Everything Is Right in the year 2011 is how much more vital and open it sounds than so much of the "alternative" rock that followed. Of course, no one was calling the music of the Velvet Monkeys "alternative rock" in 1982. I don't think anyone knew exactly what to call it, and even today Don himself struggles a bit when pressed for words to characterize it. (He calls the music of the Velvet Monkeys "arty" which it is, but "arty" often implies pretentious, which it most certainly is not.) In short, Everything Is Right is what indie rock sounded like before there was a codified set of "rules" that determined what indie rock should sound like, and the music is all the more exciting and vibrant for that fact.

Velvet Monkeys - Any Day Now

In the music of the Velvet Monkeys you can hear a pre-echo of many of the musical styles that dominated the American independent scene during the late 80s and early 90s, but they are mixed together in ways that would be almost impossible later. For example, there is an obvious 60s garage rock vibe to much of the music, but can you imagine garage rock purists like The Cynics or The Chesterfield Kings working drum machine patterns into their music? It would have been considered sacrilege! Likewise, the heavy distortion, mondo reverb, and guitar riffing present in many of the songs on the album anticipates the sound of grunge rock (listen to the opening riff of "Velvet Monkeys Theme Song" and for a second you might think the band is about to kick into "Touch Me I'm Sick"), but it's mixed with the unabashed pop catchiness that characterized power-pop. Everything Is Right sounds at once vaguely like all of these styles, and yet distinctly like none of them. It's music that is adventurous and (yes) arty, but at the same time fun and accessible. I'm very glad that it is once again available to be rediscovered by discerning music lovers. Now, on with the interview...

Me: So you're reissuing the Everything Is Right cassette digitally?

Don: Yes, that's the plan. It's the first release that we did. And you did the blog piece on it right?

Me: I did, yeah.

Don: That was really hilarious man. The Dr. Rhythm thing is great, because in reality Elaine did run off with Dr. Rhythm! [Laughs] She left me with the empty box.

Me: I suppose I intuited that somehow.

Don: I think you did, I know, that’s amazing.

With the question of Dr. Rhythm's "mysterious" departure from the Velvet Monkeys finally resolved, Don and I were able to move onto to a wide range of other subjects including the reissue of Everything Is Right, Don's current work with the Alan Lomax Archives, the D.C. music scene during the early 80s, digital distribution, and new ways of discovering music.

When the Velvet Monkeys first released Everything Is Right on their own Monkey Business label in 1982, the line up consisted of Don on vocals and guitar, Elaine Barnes on vocals and keyboards, Steven Soles on bass, and Jay Spiegel on drums (with occasional contributions from Dr. Rhythm). When I spoke to him, Don was eager to stress that that the idea behind this digital reissue was to take things back as closely as possible to the original cassette release from that lineup.

Don: The other thing that is interesting is that when we first put it [Everything Is Right] out it was a black cassette. It was the same design, but in black, and with a slightly different lineup of songs. There was a song on it called "The Creeper" which was an instrumental done by the Ventures. And before we put out our first album, Future, we did a second edition of the cassette, but by that point we had a new bass player, Steven had left the band, and Charles Steck was in the band. We had already started recording with Charles, so we snuck in a couple of tracks that were the Charles tracks.

Bassist Steven Soles

But I wanted this re-release to be exactly like the first edition of the cassette, but with some extra tracks. The idea was to keep it all Steven, instead of having any of the Charles tracks. That’s why I didn’t include "Evelyn Marble," which was on the second edition of the cassette. I just wanted to keep it pure, get it back to the original.

Me: This is the first time it’s ever actually been reissued, isn't it?

Don: Yeah. It's the first time it's come out on anything other than cassette. And the first time since that orange second edition of the cassette that it's been out.

Me: So will this feature all of the original mixes? You didn't go back and remix?

Don: [emphatically] No, no. I'm not into that. I like to just remaster it. The tapes that are that old get a little dull on the top end, so it was good to be able to remaster it. But that was the main thing, I went back to all the original tapes and I've been transferring stuff. My "real job" now is that I work at the Alan Lomax Archive. And so I've done other consulting work where I transfer people's collections. I've got a really good system for that with a really heavy-duty A/D [analog to digital] converter. So I wanted to restore it to optimum sound. That was what got me behind this, I wanted to finally do [to my own music] what I've been doing with other collections. I did a bunch of work for Hunter S. Thompson's estate, and transferred a bunch of his audio tapes. I just did a collection of Ken Kesey stuff. So I've got all these tape decks and hi-rez digital equipment. So the idea was to restore the stuff and start putting some of it out again.

Me: What kind of shape were the tapes actually in?

Don: They're in surprisingly good shape so far. When you get into some later tapes, you do find some that shed, but I haven't hit any of those. So far I've been really lucky. I've always stored them pretty well. So far so good. Once in a while I get something that has a bit of a squeak to it. They get this syndrome where they're a little bit dried out and they don't shed, but they squeak. "Sticky shed" is the real problem you have to worry about.

Me: That's when you need to bake the tapes, right? Have you had to do that?

Don: No. Not yet. I've found with the Lomax stuff that you can transfer stuff from the 50s and 60s, and that never happens.

Me: Right, the problems start in the 70s, right?

Don: Yeah, they started getting cheap with the formula then. But you never know until you put the tape up. But we may have skipped the worst of that era with the Velvet Monkeys stuff.

Me: Is there any chance we'll see some of the other Velvet Monkeys' releases, like Future come out?

Don: Oh, yeah, yeah. That will be next. I've decided to go chronologically, although I don't know how much I'll stick to that. But that's definitely the idea, to go through the whole catalog and do all the singles we had put out maybe as one. I own all the masters for that stuff, and most of the Gumball stuff, except for what's on Columbia. So that's my plan. It takes a little work to process it all and get it ready. But over the next couple years I want to get everything up and running again.

It gives me the chance to back it up, restore it, and preserve it. That's the good thing about this IODA [Independent Online Distribution Alliance] thing, for me it's like what I used to do back when I first started the cassette label…just do it yourself…and now I'm back to that. I can bypass the labels again.

Me: So you feel like this new distribution model can get you back to that?

Don: Yeah, at least it makes it easier for me to do it, and not have to go through a third person to get it done. I'm as bad as anyone with just downloading stuff that's super-rare that turns up on somebody's blog. So I don’t expect there to be big cash money coming in from doing this, but I think it's good just to get it out there. Personally, I still love vinyl more than anything, I'm not the biggest fan of digital editions. But that's the reality, and what I've learned from my Lomax experience is that that's what an archive does--it's about dissemination--the more you make it available, the more it's got a chance of surviving. So in a way, to give it away is as good as anything. I don't even mind the idea of people appropriating it in whatever way they do. And if they want to buy it off iTunes or eMusic, then great. But that's my master plan for disseminating the archives.

Me: I think it's good to for people to keep hearing this stuff. I do think that for something to remain relevant it has to be available.

Don: Yeah, exactly. And this is the new way. No one's quite comfortable with it yet, especially the people who try to make money off it, but it is the new way that people are going to collect music. But I'm also going to partner with people who want to do vinyl for certain things, and do some limited edition CDs. I'm going to do that with this one, I'm going to do a run of probably 200 CDs.

Me: I would definitely want that. I download digital music, but...and maybe this is just a factor of age...but somehow it doesn't feel as real to me unless I can have it my hand.

[Note: The CD reissue is scheduled for release on July 5th on Thick Syrup Records.]

Don: Me too. I agree. But my kids wouldn't agree. My kids could give a hoot. It's kind of like the sadness of the way the technology takes over and always has. I'm sure it was the same with albums when they came along. I'm sure that people who liked 78s complained "what are these long-players." But now it's hard to get people to listen to an album, the sequence of an album, the technology tells you to just go in and pick the song you like and that's the one you download, you don't even download the album.

Me: I agree, I think that is something that's getting lost, and it's maybe unfortunate.

Don: But I think that our type of audience still do like to have something that you hold onto and look at and have notes to read. We'll accommodate that as much as possible, but certain things will be digital only. One of the things I'm going to put out is To Live And Shave In L.A., the most recent record that we recorded. I'm partnering with a label called Fan Death who are going to do the vinyl, so it will be just digital and vinyl. So that's the game plan. I'm even thinking about a cassette run of this first one. But I might stagger this stuff a bit. In most cases, once the digital is done, then I'll start looking around for other options.

Me: Speaking of new distribution channels, one of my favorite things on YouTube was uploaded by Malcolm Rivera, it's a video of the Velvet Monkeys lip synching "Everything Is Right" on an Arlington [Virginia] Public Access Station. That's awesome.

Don: Yeah, I love that footage too. I made a video of "Everything Is Right" that uses a bunch of photos from the time. I want to try to use that footage.

Me: Did you do any other Public Access appearances?

Don: No, I think there was maybe one other song from that same session. I don't think other than that there was too much. We did one with Half Japanese at the same place, I think, which is also up online. I think that was all part of the same thing. I should ask Malcolm, maybe he has it. I think maybe there is one other song from that.

Me: To me that is the thing that's actually really great about the new digital reality; that you can have this thing that was recorded 20, 30 years ago for a tiny audience, and maybe only a handful of people saw it at the time, and now anybody in the world can sort of take a peek through that window in time.

Don: Yeah, I love that too. Not to keep falling back into the Lomax thing, but we made a YouTube channel with a lot of Lomax videos and they get an amazing amount of hits. And we also have them on our website, and nobody finds them there. So there's these new avenues now, and I think it's a good thing. [Laughs] It's all good. It's like a virtual archive. It's different, we used to look for rarities in the back den of the record store, and this is just a different thing. You still have to make the effort to find them.

Me: That was in part the impetus for me starting my blog because I felt like some of this stuff was just going to get lost to time.

Don: Yeah, I’m so into blogs like yours. I spend a lot of time checking out music blogs. Again, I used to go to record stores all the time, and now instead I kind of do that. So it's not all bad, you miss certain parts of the experience, but at the same time there's a lot of good things about it.

Me: Yeah, there are. One thing for me, liking the kind of music that I like, I always felt a little isolated. I had a few friends who were into the same kind of music, but now I realize there are many more people than I could have imagined that share similar interests from all around the world.

Don Fleming in 1981

Don and I also discussed the fertile D.C. music scene of the early 1980s that gave birth to not only the Velvet Monkeys, but also the Dischord label and Go-Go music scenes.

Me: Back when you were in the D.C. area, what was the scene like at the time?

Don: Well, it was really fun. It was at the early part of the Dischord scene, and we would be at all those shows, and there would be a lot of co-mingling of styles, with the Go-Go scene as well. There was a lot of cross-pollination at the time. The punk scene changed a bit as time went on and it became more hard-headed boys. But the early punk scene--in '80 and '81--it was as many girls as guys. But it really started switching over in '82, '83. But all the sort of weird, arty bands that we fell into knew each other. You all played at the same places and there were a lot of shows where you would mix and match. It was really fun. It was a great time for music there. We were into all those bands, and we really enjoyed it.

Me: I think now when a lot of people think of the D.C. scene, they think of harDCore, and possibly Go-Go, but there was a lot of other stuff going on. There were bands like you and the Crippled Pilgrims, and Tommy Keene, who was doing a more pop-oriented thing.

Don: Yeah, and we fit in with them. We did a tour with Tommy Keene and the Slickee Boys at one point. A lot of that is due to Skip Groff and Yesterday and Today Records and his label, Limp. He was the one that introduced a lot of people among the different factions, and everyone would see each other at his record store. That was a real central hub of the scene. So you’d have interesting match ups like a Trouble Funk show with G.I. [Government Issue] on the bill. I think it helped everyone in those earlier days. Again, in time the hardcore scene got a little more isolated, but there was a lot going on.

Me: The sound of the Velvet Monkeys changed a lot around '85 or so when the lineup also changed. That later lineup hasn't been documented as well on recordings. Are there many recordings from that era? I have a couple singles, and I know the Houseparty CD came out.

Don: Yeah, that came out after the fact. That [Houseparty] is the main one. It kind of got chronicled more through singles and EPs. There was a double single we put out through Ecstatic Peace that was again released way after it was recorded. But at the time, you're right, stuff was not coming out except for the singles. But we were recording, and some of that stuff did come out eventually, but this will be a good way to take another look at those recordings.

We just step by step really became more of a rock band. [Laughs] I don't know what we were thinking. When Charles and Elaine left the band, and Malcom joined, that was our most radical move, because at the time we felt sort of complacent. We were tired of being popular. [Laughs] We were kind of popular on a certain level at the 9:30 Club. And we felt like we needed to shake things up, so that’s what we did. And initially we were doing totally ridiculous shows where we were lip synching to Sammy Davis Jr. songs, and wrestling, and just wanted to kind of wake up our core audience. They had gotten too complacent for us.

And then we got into a heavier rock thing. And that's when we were on the road more too. That's when we did a U.S. tour, and we did some shows with Gone. I think too it was just a sign of the times.

Me: It was probably a precursor to the whole grunge thing.

Don: Yeah, I guess it was. I think it was. We invented that! [Laughs] When we came through that tour in Seattle, I’ve heard stories of certain bands being there and being into that style that we were doing at the time. It was fun for us. It was a little bit Spinal Tap. We just went with it for the fun element. We didn’t want to be "serious" in that way that we had been before as more of an "arty" band. We wanted to just have fun with it, and that's what we were doing.

Me: I think that aspect of fun is something that got lost a bit as you move into the grunge period. Some of those bands had a sense of humor, like Mudhoney, but a lot of that stuff is, well..."serious."

Don: Yeah, I agree, and I think a lot of it is pretty pedestrian too. To me, a lot of those bands sound like Black Oak Arkansas. There wasn't a whole lot interesting to me about their sound. As time went on, the more things got copied...and they were only copying the lamer bands...everybody wanted to be Pearl Jam, who were Black Oak Arkansas. [Laughs] Not that there's anything wrong with Black Oak Arkansas. But it wasn't inventive, and it didn't have much of a sense of humor, which is why Mudhoney were about the best band of the lot.

Me: They were definitely my favorite. They were a lot of fun to go see. And there's something to be said for rock and roll music being fun.

Don: Yeah, exactly, and we loved playing with those guys.

Me: You also produced the Screaming Trees Sweet Oblivion album. You got a great sound out of them on that album.

Don: Yeah, that came out really good. I worked with them and with The Posies, who were from out there, although they were sort of outsiders to that [grunge] scene. I really enjoyed working with the Screaming Trees. They were a powerful band, for sure.

Me: Their drummer at that time, Barrett [Martin], was really powerful.

Don: Yeah, he’s a great drummer. That’s a key thing for me when I’m producing, is the drummer. The drummer is almost the key man in the band, because a weak drummer just can't make even good songs sound all that good, whereas a drummer like him just takes it up a notch.

Me: So we should probably wrap up, but speaking of great drummers, when is the last time you saw Dr. Rhythm?

Don: [Laughs] Wow. It would have been the late 80s. It's actually been really cool to reconnect with Elaine and Steven, but I haven't questioned her yet about the whereabouts of Dr. Rhythm.

Me: So you’re not Facebook friends with Dr. Rhythm?

Don: You know that would be a good idea. I think Dr. Rhythm does need a Facebook page. [Laughs] I liked your angle on the story, it was really good.

It was really great for me to get a chance to talk to Don about the Velvet Monkeys and other topics. I can't recommend this new reissue of Everything Is Right highly enough, and that's not just because Don is one of the few artists brave enough to talk to a guy with a blog named Flowering Toilet.

Dignified And Old

2011-05-16T09:18:00.000-04:00

Happy 60th Birthday, Jonathan Richman.

Hype Machine Radio for iPhone

2011-05-11T11:15:00.006-04:00

Hype Machine, the music blog aggregator, has just launched a new iPhone app. So now if you want to listen to music from Flowering Toilet (or your favorite music blog) on the go, you can.

Here is how Hype Machine describes the app:

"The app is simple - it turns music blogs into mobile radio stations. You can listen to a skippable radio stream by every blog we monitor, as well as the popular or most recent posts across the site, and read each blog post. There are also genres and personalized features that create streams based on your usage of The Hype Machine and the blogs you follow. We've taken this radio approach because it offers a different experience from both browsing the site and reading a music blog on the go - in the app, the new stuff comes to you, instead of you having to search."

This isn't really my kind of thing, but I thought some of my readers might be interested to know about it, so there you go.

Tromsø, Kaptein

2011-05-05T11:54:00.002-04:00

I feel like I have crossed some invisible--perhaps imaginary--threshold with my recent purchase of Robyn Hitchcock's new album, Tromsø, Kaptein. Rather than ordering the album on CD, I chose to buy the (lossless) FLAC download. For the first time, I skipped the physical release of a Robyn Hitchcock album. Of course I've bought digital albums in the past, but doing so for a major (for me) artist like Robyn Hitchcock feels somehow different.

It's a sensible choice, but it still somehow feels a little strange. But (with shipping) the CD would have cost me over $20 (there was no vinyl release of this album) and the FLAC download was $11. So purely from an economic standpoint, my decision makes sense.

The were other factors in play however. The last Hitchcock album I bought on vinyl, Goodnight Oslo, despite being well-mastered and virtually free of clicks and pops, was something of a disaster sonically. I pre-ordered it from Yep-Roc, and when I got the vinyl in the mail, I found side two was pressed well off-center, leading to audible warble. Yep Roc kindly mailed me a replacement copy, and I mailed the defective LP back to them. Unfortunately, my replacement copy had the exact same problem. I then bought another copy at my local record shop, and when it too featured an off-center side two, I gave up, and have mostly listened to the MP3 that came as a bonus with the vinyl.

It's hard not to think about the environmental impact of my old-fogeyism in this case. How much larger was the carbon footprint of my multiple vinyl purchases than if I had just settled for a download in the first place? There is the carbon emission associated with producing three slabs of vinyl, plus the emissions associated with shipping it back and forth. It's gotta add up, right? How many icebergs need to melt for me to continue feeding my vinyl habit when there are other options available?

After that experience, I passed on the vinyl edition of Robyn's next album, Propellor Time, and simply purchased the CD at my local record store. But I don't think I listened to the CD in the traditional sense once. Don't get me wrong, I've listened to the album numerous times, but that has either been on my laptop music server or on my iPod. The CD has done little more than gather dust in a drawer after being ripped (losslessly) to iTunes.

All of which left me questioning the wisdom of paying twice as much for a CD as for a FLAC download that is bit-for-bit identical to the data encoded on the CD. I had to convert the FLAC files to a format that iTunes recognizes in order for them to be useful to me, but that wasn't hard.

So now I have Robyn's new album with sound quality that is equal to the CD, and the carbon footprint of my purchase is much smaller than it would have been otherwise. Allow me to pat myself on the back in typical American self-congratulatory fashion for being a friend to the planet and a defender of the icecaps. I am the Greatest American Hero. I spit on the rest of you and your decadent, wasteful ways.

The downside is that I have no fucking clue who plays on the album. There are some enchanting female backing vocals as well as some lovely string bass, but I have no idea who is responsible. A Google search revealed all kinds of places to download the album illegally, but no details on who plays on it (Paul Noble produced, I can tell you that).

The album itself is fantastic. I would put Hitchcock's body of work from Spooked to the present up against any other period of his career. In fact, this may be the best stretch he's had overall, even if none of the albums quite match something like Underwater Moonlight. Highly recommended.

Abandoned Bible College

2011-04-30T20:36:00.002-04:00

There's something horribly romantic and gothic about an abandoned Bible College. It's a subject that's ripe for all kinds of metaphors.

The truth in this case is actually rather prosaic. Zion Bible College decided to vacate their campus in Barrington, Rhode Island after the state instituted a stricter fire code in the wake of the Station Nightclub disaster. The school judged the costs of upgrading their facilities too expensive and moved to another town in Massachusetts.

The town of Barrington is now considering buying the property, so today the campus was open for public tours.

The photos below were taken by my son Will, and myself.

Photo by Will Bilderback

You can see more photos of the former Zion Bible School here.

R.I.P. Poly Styrene

2011-04-27T11:29:00.006-04:00

Poly Styrene (aka Marianne Elliot Said) in a recent publicity photo

It took Poly Styrene (aka Marianne Elliot) all of 10 seconds to become an immortal legend.

"Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard,
But I think,
Oh Bondage up yours!
One, two, three, FOUR...."

Before the first notes of her band X-Ray Spex's first single were even played, Poly uttered those words from a mouth still full of braces in her little girl cockney accent, and she would never be forgotten, nor could she be.

I was greatly saddened to learn of Marianne Elliot Said's passing after a battle with breast cancer at the age of 54. She lived a life as bright as her signature day-glo fashions, but one that was tragically cut too short.

Strip away the obscenity and titillation, and "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" is very simply a song about refusing the chains that other people would put on you. Widely embraced as a feminist anthem, the message is also universal. The obscenity of the metaphor, the shocking quality of hearing it shouted so forcefully from the mouth of someone who was barely more than a little girl herself at the time, only amplified the power inherent in the refusal. The song is at once potently nihilistic and forcefully affirmative. In many ways "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" is the punk-rock single, and I rank it up there in importance with The Sex Pistol's "God Save The Queen," or anything else to come out of the English punk rock explosion of the late 70s. It might be the greatest one of them all.

Likewise, I consider X-Ray Spex's first album, Germfree Adolescents, to be one of the very best UK punk rock albums, and just as vital as the debut albums by The Clash, The Damned or The Sex Pistols. With her day-glo fashion, bi-racial beauty, and mouth full of braces, Styrene cut a smashing figure across the punk rock scene, one that no doubt has served as inspiration to the hundreds of rebellious female (and male) musicians who followed in the trail she blazed so brightly.

Styrene quickly refused the shackles imposed by punk rock, releasing the decidedly non-punk solo album Translucence, then dropped out of the music scene altogether to join a London based Hare Krishna sect. She would periodically reappear on the music scene, most recently with Generation Indigo, which was released earlier this year.

According to her BBC obituary, Styrene recently said, "I know I'll probably be remembered for 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!' ... I'd like to remembered for something a bit more spiritual." I know nothing of the spirit world Poly now belongs to, but I don't think there is much better advice for living in the material world than that contained in "Oh Bondage Up Yours!"

"Oh bondage, no more!"

Everything Is Right - Audio Updated

2011-04-22T19:56:00.002-04:00

When I first posted this song, it featured a different take of "Everything Is Right" than the one that appeared on the cassette. I've since replaced the older version of the song with the newly remastered 1981 cassette version that will be released digitally on June 7th. Take a listen. It sounds terrific!

Don Fleming

2011-04-22T11:08:00.001-04:00

I had a good chat with Don Fleming this morning. I believe I am getting closer than ever to finding out the true story of what happened to Dr. Rhythm, the elusive "Missing Link" in the Velvet Monkeys' story. More details to follow. Stay tuned.

New Robyn Hitchcock Album, Tromsø, Kaptein, Available for Pre-Oder/Download

2011-04-21T11:05:00.010-04:00

Robyn Hitchcock - Light Blue Afternoon by Hype City Recordings

A new album from Robyn Hichcock, Tromsø, Kaptein, is being released by Norwegian label Hype City Recordings. It is currently available for pre-order at Robyn Hitchcock's website. If you buy it now, you will immediately get an MP3 download of the entire album.

Details:

Robyn Hitchcock's new album is sung in English for Norwegian ears.

We are excited to announce that Norwegian label Hype City are all set to release a new collection of songs by Robyn Hitchcock on April 8th [May 3rd in USA], Tromsø, Kaptein on CD. Produced by Paul Noble, the record features 8 new original compositions from Robyn as well as a re-recording of "Raining Twilight Coast" from Eye and a new Norwegian language version of the title track from Goodnight Oslo.

Exclusively at the Robyn Hitchcock Webshop, we are giving fans the chance to pre-order the CD now and get the full MP3 digital album instantly for FREE. CD will ship and FLAC download available for purchase 5/3/2011.

Robyn says:

"In the late summer of 1982 I first visited Norway. A yellow van containing the London band Motor Boys Motor, my own rock trio, a sound engineer and our tour guide set off from Oslo up to the Sognefjord, down through Lillehammer, back to Bergen and through the Sognefjord again, and returning again to Oslo. We played in fallout shelters to AC/DC fans, in small town festivals in the rain, in beautiful wooden hotels by the water's edge, and sometimes in actual clubs. Our yellow van drove through endless tunnels that finally emerged onto fjord-side roads with 1000-meter drops to the water on one side, and cliffs that vanished in the clouds on the other. Ferries took us across stretches of water where the rain seemed to be falling up into the sky. Mist and alcohol were everywhere. One morning I was wakened by a man who was wearing nothing but an air pilot's cap and clutching a glass of moonshine. It was 7:42 by his watch.

Since 2005 I've visited regularly, making new friends in Bergen and beyond. In Egersund, I met Frode Strømstrad whose band I Was A King were playing there. He very kindly offered to release a record of mine in Norway on his Hype City label. So I went home and disappeared into myself, as if I was roaming the fjords; I let one side of myself argue with the other, as if I was roaming the fjords with a therapist. I let the songs come out of me, and here is the result - sung in English for Norwegian ears."

~ Robyn Hitchcock - London, 2011

Robyn has been on something of a hot streak lately, releasing one outstanding album after another in quick succession with a variety of line-ups and in a wide array of Hitchcockian styles. On first listen Tromsø, Kaptein sounds like another winner. Perhaps I have "Norwegian ears."

Village Of Spaces In Store At Analog Underground Today

2011-04-21T09:32:00.002-04:00

I had previously, mistakenly, posted that Village of Spaces and Mona Nash would be doing an in store at Analog Underground on Record Store Day. In fact, the performance is today (April 21) starting at 3:00 PM at Analog Underground, 504 Broadway, Providence, RI.

I would go, but will be busy discussing Schrödinger's Cat's at that time instead. No cats will be harmed in the course of this discussion.

Daddy, this music is not making me feel happy.

2011-04-19T11:04:00.006-04:00

"Daddy, this music is not making me feel happy." That's what my four year old daughter said to me as I played my new prized-possession, a limited edition reproduction test pressing of Big Star's Third, an album I've listened to regularly in one form or another since the age of fifteen. It's a pretty sensible statement. Really, what other reaction could a normal four year old have?

You're a wasted face
You're a sad-eyed lie
You're a holocaust

I doubt my daughter was specifically responding to the lyrics of "Holocaust," but rather to the overall tone of exquisite melancholy that pervades the album. Nobody ever accused Big Star's Third of being "the feel good album of the summer." Alex and Jody couldn't even find a label willing to release it when the original test pressing was cut in 1975.

But why should we enjoy (or even listen to) music that doesn't make us happy? Or is it possible that incredibly sad music can--on some level--make us happy under the right circumstances? I don't have any easy answers to those questions, other than to say that as we move past the age of four, some of us learn to embrace music that covers the full spectrum of human emotion (love, happiness and ecstatic joy, yes, but also anger, fear and even depression). Maybe you get to a certain age and you're happy just to still be able to feel anything at all, and sometimes you need art (musical or otherwise) to provoke an emotional response to remind you that you're alive, that you're a human being.

You're eyes are almost dead
Can't get out of bed
And you can't sleep

Maybe you have to have been there once or twice to find any comfort in lyrics like that.

I didn't try to explain any of this to my daughter. She'll have to find out for herself.

Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" 78 RPM Screw Up?

2011-04-17T17:55:00.007-04:00

After playing around with the Beach Boys 10" a bit, I suspect Capitol may have cut this in odd way (shocking, I know).

What I suspect they did was cut the record on the lathe at 45 RPM while playing the tape back slowly. Since Capitol hasn't been cutting 78s for a half century or more, it would not surprise me if their lathe can't spin at 78 RPM (I'm trying to find out whether that is the case or not). But no problem right? Play the tape (or digital file) back at around 57.7% speed, and spin the lathe at 45 RPM and everything should work, right? Not exactly. The problem comes when introducing the RIAA compensation curve, and if that is applied as the tape runs at the slower speed, it also shifts the RIAA crossover points. If that is the case, and the RIAA curve is off, the frequency response will be a bit off when actually played at 78 RPM.

How do I know this you ask? Well, I don't, it's a somewhat educated guess. I recorded my copy while playing at 45. Then I sped it up the proper amount using the method outlined in the post below. But when I used the EQ program I suggested (using the 45 > 78 setting) the frequency response sounded off (too bass heavy and muffled in the treble). But if I didn't apply the EQ change, it sounded right. When I recorded at 33.3 and applied the appropriate speed changes and EQ correction in Equalizer, the resulting file sounded even more off than when I recorded at 45 and applied the changes. I've used Equalizer to adjust EQ under similar circumstances dozens of times in the past, and this is the first time I've found the results unsatisfactory.

It was also interesting to me that on the EQ corrected copy I could see the brickwall frequency cut off appears to have been mostly shifted down to around 17 kHz, whereas without the correction I see the brickwall cutoff around 22 kHz (which is right were I would expect it to be if they used a 44.1 kHz digital source, or had a 44.1 digital delay head in their cutting set up). Also when I inspected the re-EQ'd file I recorded at 33.3 RPM, the brickwall filter appeared to have mostly been shifted down even further than that (to around 15 kHz).

So my revised advise--in this case only--is to skip the EQ step I outlined below for best sound quality. Just record at 45, speed it up, and don't worry about correcting the EQ. It will sound fine that way. The difference between the two is not so huge anyway, but the uncorrected version sounded more right to my ears. Or you can do it both ways (it's a free program and works quickly) and decide which way it sounds best for yourself.

I just want to emphasize that in other cases, I have found the Equalizer program to work perfectly for transcribing vintage 78s. Brian Davies, the author of the program knows 78s inside out and backward in his sleep. I highly recommend Equalizer in general both for transcribing vintage 78s at 45 RPM, or for recording 45 RPM singles at 33.3 (which is sometimes a useful technique if you have a noisy 45, but that's another story). And as I have noted in the past, Click Repair (also by Davies), is the single best vinyl restoration program I have used, and I recommend it highly to anyone who wants to digitize any kind of record (78s, 45s, LPs, flexi-discs, whatever...).

All of this is assuming Capitol used the RIAA curve to cut the record, and since the release doesn't indicate any other curve was utilized (Decca, Columbia, Westrex, etc.), I think it is reasonable to assume they used RIAA, although I could be wrong about that.

I have a few inquiries out, and I'll see what I can find out what actually happened. Although, honestly, I think I've wasted more than enough time on this already.

**Update: I revised this post for the sake of clarity. The original post was written quite quickly, and may not have been as clear as I hoped it would be.

How To Listen To Your Beach Boys 78 RPM Record Even If Your Turntable Won't Spin That Fast

2011-04-16T16:15:00.018-04:00

Just got back from Record Store Day with your Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" 78 RPM double 10" EP, but don't have a turntable that spins at 78 RPM? Really want to hear those previously unreleased alternate versions on the second disc?

You are probably not alone.

So, what's to be done? You could follow the advise of commenter Mark N. and just play it at 45 RPM and pretend it's Vanilla Fudge covering the Beach Boys. That might be fun for a spin or two, but once the quaaludes wear off it might not be so amusing anymore.

There is another solution. You could record the tracks to your computer and then once they've been digitized, manipulate them digitally so that they play back properly. However, there are couple tricks to doing this that are necessary in order for them to sound right.

First, you'll need to record the tracks. If you've never digitized a record before, I recommend doing a little research on best practices. If you have a CD recorder, you could just record to that, then load the tracks on your computer. There are numerous programs you can use to make recordings directly to your computer, including a free one called Audacity.

For simplicity's sake, I recommend recording at 45 RPM and setting the digital sampling rate to 44.1 kHz (this is the standard for CDs, so if you went the CD-R route you're good). Once you have made this recording, if you use any de-clicking software, I recommend running it through the de-clicker at the slower speed.

The next step will be to change the sampling rate without resampling. This will change the speed at which your computer plays back the recording. Assuming you recorded at 44,100 Hz, you'll want to change the sampling rate to 76,440 Hz. (If you recorded at some other sampling rate, simply multiply the original sampling rate by 1.733333...) Again, it is important that you do not resample when you change the sampling rate. Most audio programs will offer the ability to change the sampling rate without resampling, but you'll need to check your owner's manual for how to do this.

Once you have done this, you should have a recording that sounds correct in terms of speed, but not quite right in the frequency domain. If you want to get things right, you'll need to change the equalization because you originally applied the RIAA equalization at ~~45 RPM~~, and changing the speed also shifted the EQ. To make the proper EQ change, I recommend you download the free program, Equalizer.

Once you open Equalizer, use the following settings: Under Filters "Original" select "RIAA + 45>78," under "New" select "RIAA." I would also recommend in the box that says "Mono Mix" that you check the box that says "Merge." Make sure "Lo-cut" and "Hi-cut" are off (they should be by default). Under "Main controls" Click "Open" and select the file you recorded. A box will come up asking you for a name for you new file. You can call it whatever you want, but by default Equalizer adds "-dr" to the name of your original file. Select "Save." Under Main controls select "Start."

~~Once the program is finished running (it shouldn't take long), you will have a new file that is both speed and EQ correct.~~ You can then make any further changes you want (normalization, etc.) in your normal audio editing software. Enjoy!

Or you could just let someone else do the work and wait for the result to show up somewhere on the web. But what is the fun in that?

Merry Record Store Day!

**Update: I offered some bad advice, but it wasn't my fault, it has to do with the screwy way (I suspect) that Capitol cut this. See my updated post for details.

Other Providence Area Record Stores

2011-04-15T11:08:00.002-04:00

I've written about three first class record stores (real record stores) in the Providence, Rhode Island area. As I said before, I feel very lucky to live in an area that can still support the existence of record stores. But these are not the only places to buy records in the area, and I wanted to single out a few other shops. All three of them will be participating in Record Store Day.

Armageddon Shop - Providence, RI
Shockingly, I have never even set foot in this store, a situation I really should remedy. Armageddon's focus is on punk/metal/noise/hardcore/indie, but they carry a variety of used records. (Maybe I'm afraid a trip to Armageddon will make me feel even older than I already do.) I've been told it's quite a good shop, and the fact that I've never been there is only a testament to how spoiled I am by the other great record stores in the area.

The Time Capsule - Cranston, RI & Seekonk, MA
I didn't even know this place existed until recently, despite the fact that their Seekonk, MA location is just a stones throw or two from my house. I only discovered their existence when I saw them listed as a participating Record Store Day retailer. I suspect the Cranston location is where the real vinyl action is, but the Seekonk shop has a lot of used records and CDs, as well as comic books, video games and various collectables. (I couldn't decide between the Fonzie and Ralph Malph dolls that were still in their original packaging, then I started thinking about the "Potsie" doll and how dreamy Anson Williams is, and then I realized I was better off sticking to looking at the records.)

I ended up searching through a lot of Asia and R.E.O. Speedwagon records, but found a copy of The Rain Parade's Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (yeah, I already owned a copy on CD, but I wanted the LP too), a very clean copy of Neil Diamond's Hot August Night ("the audience fell at his feet like plums!"), and an Ella Fitzgerald CD. Most LPs are priced at $3 each. For her patience, my daughter got a beanie baby kitty cat, and if it had been a little cheaper, my son would have scored a Gigan action figure. Fun for the whole family!

What Cheer! Antiques (and some records) - Providence, RI
What Cheer is an antique store, but they have records and a few CDs in their back room. Their selection is very interesting and varied. As you might expect from a funky antiques shop, a lot of their records seem to have high kitsch value, but there is lots of good music there as well (nothing against the musical value of kitsch, mind you). In my opinion their records are fairly overpriced, but on Record Store Day (and Sunday 4/17) all LPs will be 50% off, and their "bargain bin" will be 10 for $1. It's not uncommon for them to have 50% off sales at other times too (you can decide what that means about their everyday prices for yourself).

Price complaints aside, What Cheer! is an important Providence institution and owners Chris and Jennifer Daltry are solid citizens. They are both big supporters of (and participants in) the local Providence music and art scene. They also run the semi-annual Providence/Somerville Rock & Roll Yard Sale.

I still haven't even covered everything in the area, but if you're a vinyl or music hound in the Northeast, a trip to the Providence area could be well worth your time. Prices here are not as high as the New York or Boston markets, but the selection is still quite good.

In Your Ear - Warren, Rhode Island

2011-04-14T22:39:00.007-04:00

In Your Ear Records - 462 Main Street, Warren, RI

In Your Ear Records is my favorite record store in the Providence area. Located in scenic Warren, Rhode Island (just a few miles from my house), In Your Ear houses a fantastic collection of records, 45s, CDs, DVDs, 8-Tracks, reel-to-reel tapes, as well as vintage turntables and stereo equipment. The store is bright and clean, and both the owner and his employees are friendly folks.

What I like best about In Your Ear is that they are constantly getting in new stock. Constantly. It pays to check in often (which I do). But what this constant influx of records, CDs, 8-tracks (and God knows what else) means is that it is almost impossible for the store to be kept to the same level of organization as found at Round Again. Yes, records are alphabetized by genre on the racks, but you'll find a lot of the really good stuff placed randomly in boxes on the floor. Strangely, I am okay with that. I think I actually even like it. For me it's fun to spot a new stack of records hiding in a corner of the store then checking to see what's in it. More often than not there will be something cool in there, and chances are it's in good shape and extremely reasonably priced.

For nearly 20 years In Your Ear was a hot destination on Thayer Street in Providence (the main commercial area around Brown University). But then Thayer Street rents skyrocketed right around the time college students discovered a way to get music without paying for it, and what once was a prime location for a record store no longer made sense. So the store relocated to the mean streets of Barrington, Rhode Island (with a brief name change), and later moved to it's current location on Main Street in Warren.

I've picked up a lot of great records from In Your Ear over the years; stuff like a white label promo of Richard Lloyd's Alchemy (I just spotted a non-white label copy in one of the boxes on the floor for cheap if you're looking for one), an original pressing of Big Star's #1 Record, a minty fresh original U.S. pressing of Exile On Main St. with all the postcards intact, a near perfect six-eye stereo copy of Sketches Of Spain, and many other terrific records. They also stock new CDs and LPs and will special order anything you want. If you are looking for something specific, it pays to ask because they also have locations in Cambridge and Boston and might have it there.

In Your Ear is worth a special trip to Warren. While you're there you can grab a refreshing Del's Frozen Lemonade, a coffee at The Coffee Depot, or an award winning pizza across the street from Federal Hill Pizza. (I recommend skipping their next door neighbor Warren House of Pizza unless you enjoy being yelled at over a greasy, bland slice of pizza).

In Your Ear is definitely participating in Record Store Day. In addition to having limited edition RSD exclusives, all new CDs and vinyl will be 10% off, used vinyl will be 25% percent off, and used CDs will be buy one get one free. Weather permitting they will also be having a sidewalk sale featuring items from the mysterious In Your Ear "vault."

Round Again Records - Providence, Rhode Island

2011-04-13T21:36:00.003-04:00

Round Again Records - 278 Wickenden St. Providence, RI

If Analog Underground is the new kid on the block on the Providence record store scene, Round Again Records is almost defiantly old-school. Round Again has no Facebook page. Round Again barely has a webpage. It's been in the exact same location since 1979.

All of which might give you the wrong idea. It may be old-school, but Round Again is not some musty-smelling hole in the wall. It's extremely clean and everything is exceptionally well-organized (alphabetized by genre). There aren't piles of records sitting on the floor, and nothing makes it to the racks that is in questionable condition. I hardly bother to inspect records before buying them at Round Again because they are always in excellent condition and very clean (a Nitty Gritty record vacuum sits prominently on the counter).

Steve, the owner (and only person I've ever seen working there), clearly knows his records. He knows what's an original pressing and what's not. He knows whether a mono copy of an Elvis Presley soundtrack is more sought after than the stereo version. He knows if there's an alternative cover that increases the value of a record. From the limited interactions I've had with him, it's clear to me that Steve works really hard at what he does, and that's why Round Again has survived in the same location for over thirty years while other shops have come and gone. And if he isn't ready for the brave new world of social media, he is one of the most trusted sellers of LPs on eBay, and deservedly so.

Selection is excellent and varied. Round Again is a great spot to hit if you are looking for 50s and 60s Jazz Records, but there is also a robust selection of Rock, Pop, Folk, R&B, Country, Classical, and Soundtrack LPs. But don't go in looking for the latest indie buzz band's limited-edition flexi disc, cause it's not there. Prices are fair. (During one of my recent trips, I scored a still sealed original pressing of NRBQ's first album for only $10.) Wall items tend to be pricey, but I have no doubt Steve could sell them on eBay for at least what he asks for them in store. Round Again also carries some nicely refurbished turntables and other vintage stereo equipment, and like the records he sells, all of the equipment is clean and appears to be in excellent condition.

If you live anywhere near Providence and love records Round Again is well worth the trip. And when you're done shopping for records you can go get amped up on caffeine across the street at the Coffee Exchange. I seriously doubt Round Again is doing anything to celebrate Record Store Day, Steve strikes me as more like a Festivus kind of guy.

Analog Underground - Providence, Rhode Island

2011-04-13T11:22:00.014-04:00

Analog Underground - 504 Broadway, Providence, RI

I missed this when it came out, but there was a nice story in the Providence Phoenix about Analog Underground, a relatively new record store on Broadway in Providence, RI.

I've met owner Dave Lifrieri a few times over the years, and he seems like a genuinely nice guy. And it's great to see that that a younger person with some vision can still establish a new business that is built primarily around selling vinyl records in the year 2011. Dave has been particularly savvy in utilizing Facebook to communicate with his customers, and using the world of digital media to create a feeling of community.

Dave is also smart, in my opinion, to focus not only on selling the records themselves, but also helping his customers to set up relatively high quality vinyl playback systems. Too many record stores miss out on the opportunity to educate their customers about the pleasures of high-quality vinyl playback. Instead of just having a few cheap ION USB turntables collecting dust in a corner of the store, Dave has set up a serious "listening den" in the back of the his store, and is both knowledgeable and outgoing enough to educate those who want to know what all the fuss over vinyl records is about.

Too often you have "music guys" on the one hand, and "gear heads" on the other. Often the music guys are only too happy to play their music on crummy equipment, and don't seem to care a bit about sound quality (more power to 'em). On the other hand the gear heads who tend to run hi-fi shops often seem happy to play immaculately recorded, but musically sterile, "demo" recordings over and over to demonstrate their equipment's remarkable imaging abilities. (I apologize for these gross generalizations, but I think you know what I mean here.) Dave seems like a good balance between the two. There is no doubt he is a serious music lover for whom music will always come first, but he also has a good understanding of how the right equipment can enhance the listening experience.

Analog Underground is a small shop, but the selection is well-chosen. You'll find lots of 70s and 80s Punk and New Wave vinyl for reasonable prices (last time I was there I picked up a copy of the Buzzcocks' Parts 1-3 EP, and was really tempted by several original 10" copies of The Clash's Black Market Clash), as well as a great selection of reasonably priced jazz records, and smattering of new releases and reissues. There is also a small selection of used CDs, although as the name of the shop implies, the focus is very much on vinyl.

I'm very grateful to live in an area that has a healthy selection of record stores, and it is nice to see a new store establish itself. ~~I don't think Analog Underground is officially participating in Record Store Day, but~~ Iif you are a music lover who lives in the greater Providence area (or are just visiting) this new shop is certainly a destination worth checking out.

Update: Analog Underground is participating in Record Store Day. They will have some of the RSD exclusives, plus their $3 LPs (already a bargain) will be marked down to $1. They will also have live in store performances from Village of Spaces, Mona Nash and others starting at 3:00 PM.

New Feelies Album, Here Before, Release Today

2011-04-12T11:18:00.002-04:00

In case you missed one of my multiple earlier posts on this subject, the pride of Haledon NJ, The Feelies, release their first album in nearly 20 years, Here Before, today.

Review to come soon. The UPS man has my LP copy, and it should arrive tomorrow. I admit that I have heard an MP3 version of the album already, and I am very favorably impressed, but I want to put needle to groove before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard for that matter).

I figure if the Feelies can wait 19+ years to release a new album, it won't matter much if I wait a few days to review it.

Whatever Happened To Dr. Rhythm? (Velvet Monkeys News)

2011-04-12T10:56:00.011-04:00

Long out-of-print, and originally a cassette-only release, Everything is Right will once again rock the world, this time as a digital release. To the best of my knowledge, the debut release by Washington D.C. rock legends the Velvet Monkeys has never been reissued in full on any format until now.

According to a recent press release:

The digital reissue of Everything is Right is the first release on Don Fleming’s Instant Mayhem label since partnering with digital distributor IODA. The audio was restored from the original analog tapes and remastered by Fleming. Instant Mayhem will release reissues of Fleming’s older catalog (w/Velvet Monkeys and Gumball) as well as new projects. The next two releases for the label are a new solo EP titled Don Fleming 4, and a new album by To Live and Shave in L.A. called The Cortège.

Skip Groff, producer of many notable Washington, D.C. bands, first recorded the Velvet Monkeys in 1981 at Don Zientara’s Inner Ear Studio. "Drive In" and "Shadow Box," were featured on Groff’s Connected LP, a sampler of D.C. bands released in 1981 on Limp Records. The band followed with the 10 song cassette-only Everything is Right, released on their own Monkey Business label in July 1982. Three additional live songs from a show at the Chancery in D.C. on New Year’s Eve 1981 have been added to the original release for this reissue.

During this era the Monkeys lineup featured Fleming (later of Gumball, and producer of Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Screaming Trees, Hole, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Andrew W.K., and others) on vocals and guitar, Elaine Barnes on vocals and keyboards, Stephen Soles on bass, and Jay "The Rummager" Spiegel on drums.

The story of these four Velvet Monkeys, their rise to the top and subsequent celebrity exploits are well documented, and I see little point in rehashing the details here. (For more on this, I highly recommend Kitty Kelley's controversial, but impeccably sourced, biography of the band, Monkey Business: Life in the Rock and Roll Zoo with Don Fleming and the Velvet Monkeys.) But the band member that I have personally always been the most curious about is the original drummer, Dr. Rhythm. Sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Monkey," or "the Missing Link," not much is known about the reclusive and mysterious Dr. Rhythm.

So just what happened to Dr. Rhythm anyway? Dr. Rhythm's metronomic drumming was an incredibly important ingredient in the early Velvet Monkeys' sound, but the reasons for his sacking, as well as his current whereabouts, have remained shrouded in mystery for decades. Some claim the good Dr. was fired after he was caught moonlighting on a Depeche Mode session. Others say that extensive electroshock therapy sessions had made him increasingly unreliable. Still others claim Fleming fired him in a jealous rage when he caught Elaine Barnes fooling around with him. I have even heard it said that Dr. Rhythm was Don DeLillo's inspiration for the character of Bill Gray in his 1991 novel Mao II.

But, as with anything related to the Velvet Monkeys, the truth is rarely what it appears to be. Rest assured, dear reader, that I am doing everything in my power to get to the bottom of this mystery. In the meantime, enjoy the first chance to hear Everything Is Right in any format for the first time in a long time.

[BTW, I believe the take of "Everything Is Right" that I am streaming on SoundCloud is slightly different from the one that appeared on the original cassette release. I'll replace it with the correct version when I get it.]

Update: The correct audio is up now. This is the newly remastered version of the song that originally appeared on the Everything Is Right Cassette, and that will be available for download on June 7th.

Other Record Store Day 2011 Releases

2011-03-29T11:36:00.005-04:00

Generally, I try to keep things positive here, so in that spirit I wanted to point out a few of the Record Store Day 2011 releases that do look cool to me, and that I will pick up if I can.

The one I really want is the Television Live At The Old Waldorf 2 LP set. This was originally released as a 5,000 copy limited edition CD by Rhino Handmade several years ago. It promptly sold out, and I really regret missing the boat on it the first time. It is available as a download from iTunes (and probably other places), so the music is available. But for me, music on a hard drive never totally cuts it, and damn it, I want this on LP. Am I a hypocrite for wanting this on vinyl (even though I have the music in some form already) while criticizing the Beach Boys 78 RPM set? Possibly. But, want it I do. (In the words of the great philosopher David St. Hubbins: "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.") Live At The Old Waldorf is limited to 3,000 copies, so hopefully my local record store gets a copy or two.

Another interesting looking release is Big Star's Third (Test Pressing Edition). For those who don't know the history of this album, it originally appeared as a very limited edition test pressing that was never released commercially. Several years later the album was issued by PVC on LP with a different track listing and song order, but many prefer the way the album was originally intended to be sequenced. If I can find this, I'll buy a copy, but it's limited to a pressing of 1,000. I expect this one to be difficult to obtain and quickly fetch big collector dollars on eBay. Such is life.

Another promising release is a new single by The Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues" b/w "Grown Ocean," I have no idea if either of these songs will show up on their upcoming album release, but I am very much looking forward to hearing new music from this band.

Finally, there is Rhino's "audiophile" reissue of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, pressed as both a 2 LP 45 RPM set and a standard 33.3 RPM set. I think this is only getting grouped in with Record Store Day releases by circumstance because it was supposed to have been released years ago, but got held up for one reason or another. The LP was cut by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray (who cut the best sounding version of Joni Mitchell's Blue I have ever heard, along with many other fantastic sounding LPs).

Much as I respect Hoffman and Gray's work, I'm a little nervous about hearing this album remastered, because I love how the original LP sounds so much already. When I drop the needle in the groove of the original album a million memories and sensations from 1977 wash over me. It's like my own personal 33.3 RPM time machine. The sound of this one really defined its era, for better or for worse (I love it). Still, I'm looking forward to hearing this album presented in a different way (I imagine with no compression and limited EQ). I don't doubt the 45 RPM version will sound spectacular, but I really don't care for 45 RPM sets (the sides are too short), and have an order in for the 33.3 version instead. The 33.3 version is not a limited pressing, so it should be no problem to get a copy. The 45 RPM set is limited, so if you want it, act fast.

There are some other releases that look interesting, but that I will probably pass on.

It's good to see The Flaming Lips first 5 Warner LPs get reissued on premium vinyl (especially given what some of the original LPs go for on eBay), but I'm not made of money, and will happily settle for the CDs I already own.

Shuggie Otis's Inspiration Information: World Psychedelic Classics 2 is getting a limited 2 LP repressing by Luaka Bop. I already own a copy of that, and can't recommend it highly enough. The 2 LP set I own sounds much better than the CD to my ears (less compressed, less harsh EQ, etc.). And, of course, the music on this release is absolutely essential; funky, soulful, weird, inventive, passionate, it is absolutely one of my all time favorites, and the Luaka Bop set also adds the best tracks from the nearly as good Freedom Flight. Grab one if you can!

It also looks like the dB's have a new single coming out called "Picture Sleeve" as well, hopefully that means there will be more new music from this legendary combo around the bend.

Record Store Day 2011

2011-03-23T10:35:00.014-04:00

Like many things that started out as good ideas, Record Store Day has (in my humble opinion) gotten ~~extremely lame~~ less cool as it has become increasingly institutionalized. Case in point; one of the big, exciting, must-have Record Store Day releases this year is a 78 RPM version of The Beach Boy's "Good Vibrations"/"Heroes And Villains."

What started out as a well-intentioned celebration of an important but struggling institution has devolved into little more than an orgy of collector fetishism. I mean seriously, what is the point of a 78 RPM version of "Good Vibrations" other than to have a 78 RPM version of "Good Vibrations" that you can show to your friends and say "Look! I have a 78 RPM version of 'Good Vibrations'! It plays at 78 RPM!" And if your friends are really nice people they will pretend you have a really cool, unique and important cultural artifact, but trust me they don't really care because all you have is a pointless commodity fetish.

I still support Record Store Day in concept because real record stores are a dying breed, and I love record stores. But the concept and the reality seem more and more at odds with each passing year. When I recently stopped into my local, genuinely independent, record store (In Your Ear in Warren Rhode Island), the owner was unsure how many releases he would actually be able to get because the regional, medium-sized chain, Newbury Comics (which isn't even really a record store, but a lifestyle and accessories shop that happens to sell some records) gets priority from the people who run Record Store Day.

I'm eager to know if any of my readers actually really want the 78 RPM "Good Vibrations" (and not just because you think you might be able to sell it at a profit on eBay--see poll at right). Is a 78 RPM version of "Good Vibrations" the thing that will finally fill the hole in your life that you were always vaguely aware of, but never could fully articulate until you learned that Capitol records would be producing a special, limited-edition, 78 RPM edition of "Good Vibrations" exclusively for Record Store Day 2011, or will it just be another piece of junk that sits in your closet?

Oh yeah...the fourth annual Record Store Day will take place on Saturday, April 16, 2011. Support your local independent record store!

Neil Diamond Bang Alternatives

2011-03-16T11:48:00.006-04:00

If, like me, you recently picked up Neil Diamond's The Bang Years: 1966-1968 on CD and found yourself disappointed with the sound quality (personally I find it way too bright and compressed sounding), what are your alternatives?

Unfortunately, none of them are perfect. The very best I have heard this material sound, strangely enough, is on an LP compilation distributed exclusively by the Columbia House Record Club on the Frog King label in 1978. Back then a mere penny (or whatever the deal was in 1978) could get you excellent sounding versions of 12 of Neil's biggest hits for Bang Records. However, the versions on this compilation are not exactly the original hit versions of the songs. They are stereo remixes with some added overdubs. Still this LP, mastered by the great Bernie Grundman, sounds excellent and is very enjoyable to listen to even if it lacks a certain faithfulness to the punchy sounding 60s hits. There's more "space" between the sounds here than on the mono mixes, and the instruments and vocals sound highly resolved and articulated, whereas on the mono mixes you get a bit more of that squashed "wall of sound" effect.

A very similar LP called Classics: The Early Years was issued by Columbia in 1983, and later reissued on CD. The CD is still available. I can't vouch for the mastering of this title, but my understanding is that it mostly features the same mixes as the Frog King LP, with the exception of "Kentucky Woman" which is presented in a true stereo remix on the Frog King LP and in a fake stereo remix on Classics. But be warned, while the cover (somewhat misleadingly) says "Original Hit Recordings," these are definitely stereo remixes, not what you would have heard on the radio circa 1966-1973 when these songs originally charted. And more importantly, it only gets you 12 songs.

Another option that gets you more songs (21 in all) is the 1973 Bang Records 2 LP set Double Gold that I mentioned in my previous post. Unfortunately, I have trouble recommending this set on sonic grounds as well. Many (not all) of the tracks are featured in annoying "fake stereo" mixes that really don't sound very good.

Another good choice is the 3 CD In My Lifetime box set that was released by Sony in 1996. While it only features 11 of Diamond's Bang recordings, they are presented in their original mono single mixes and were mastered without the artificial brightening and excessive compression that mars the new set. Used copies of the box can be found cheaply, and of course you get many of the later hits like "Sweet Caroline," "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Forever In Blue Jeans" as well. I'm not crazy about all of the later material, but I still consider this an essential purchase. If the current CD only sounded as good as the Bang era cuts do on the box set, I would have been very happy.

Still that leaves you missing a lot of great songs from the Bang era. You could try picking up original mono pressings of Neil's first two albums The Feel Of Neil Diamond and Just For You. But finding original mono copies of these LPs in anything resembling good condition is a very difficult (not to mention pricey) proposition. Additionally, a few of the songs on the mono LPs feature different mixes from the hit single versions. Stereo copies are somewhat easier to find, but the original stereo mixes are drastically inferior to the later remixed versions. "Solitary Man" in particular features a horrible "ping-pong" stereo mix that really distracts from the song.

Which leaves us with.....

...collecting the original 45 RPM 7" singles. Many of them can still be found in excellent condition for reasonable prices. I've picked up a few already, and while no one will confuse these with fussy "audiophile" recordings, they sound great nonetheless. These songs were mastered loud (although not nearly as loud as the new CD) and have a "punchy" AM radio quality to them. While there is some distortion inherent to the mixes, it's a friendly, euphonic, analog, tube-driven kind of distortion, not the hard, brittle, digital sounding distortion I hear on the new CD (or perhaps it is a matter of the compression and bright EQ taking that euphonic tube distortion and making it sound hard and brittle... I'm afraid I can only speculate.) So while the original 45s have some distortion in them, they sound very exciting and alive, as did the best pop music of that era.

Of course there are frustrations with collecting 45s. Off center pressings are more the rule than the exception in my experience. Sometimes they look fine when examined visually, only to reveal serious damage when placed on the turntable. And, of course, listening to them will never be as easy as putting on a CD, or even an LP for that matter. Still, if you want the authentic sound of these hits, I think this is the only way to go.

Capitol Records to Release Beach Boys Version of SMiLE

2011-03-12T07:58:00.002-05:00

Capitol records has announced that they will release The Beach Boys' lost SMiLE album sometime in 2011. According to Billboard, "the project will be released in three versions: a two-CD set, an iTunes LP digital album and a limited-edition boxed set containing four CDs, two vinyl LPs, two vinyl singles and a 60-page hardbound book written by Beach Boys historian Domenic Priore." (No bonus points for guessing which one I plan to buy.)

Of course the SMiLE album was never actually completed, and to what extent it was close to being finished has been subject to much debate among Beach Boys fans over the years. For what it is worth producer Mark Linett, who also produced Brian Wilson's re-recorded solo SMiLE album, says in an interview with Billboard that "all of the tracks were recorded," but "a lot of the vocals seem to not have been completed."

My own feeling is that it was no coincidence that Brian finally completed SMiLE as a solo album at the same time that ProTools became ubiquitous in the recording and mixing of popular music. Much has been made of Brian's mental state as the SMiLE project fell apart, but on some level I believe that it took recording and mixing technology 35 years to catch up to the music Brian was hearing in his head circa 1966-67. So while we'll never know exactly what SMiLE would have sounded like if it had been completed in 1967, that may well be because it was impossible to complete as Brian envisioned it with the technology available at the time. But this new release will undoubtedly get us much closer to what was in Brian's head back then. Exciting news!

Neil Diamond - The Bang Years 1966-1968

2011-03-06T21:18:00.007-05:00

Neil Diamond's recordings for Bert Berns' Bang Records label have a tortured release history, so it is good to see the release of the 23 track The Bang Years: 1966-1968 CD on Sony Legacy, a long-promised, but much-delayed, collection. The set presents nearly all of Diamond's Bang recordings in their original, rockin' mono mixes (but omits two Bang era tracks, "Shot Down" and "Crooked Street," for reasons I am not entirely clear on).

I primarily know these songs through a 2 LP set released by Bang in 1973 called Double Gold. Double Gold, while containing some great music, is a fairly thorough butchering of Diamond's early hit records. It features a couple mono recordings, some of the inferior stereo mixes, some horrible sounding fake stereo remixes with annoying panning effects, and some mono recordings that have had (unnecessary) stereo overdubs added to them.

Confused? That's okay, someone named K.F. Louie has done an admirable job of sorting out the whole mess with a handy chart and track-by-track analysis. Many of the tracks were also re-released on Early Classics on the Frog King label and Classics: The Early Years on Columbia. These LPs featured remixed stereo recordings (also with added overdubs), and while they sound good in their own right, they're identifiably different from the classic "hit" versions of the songs. The In My Lifetime box set corrected some of these errors by presenting 11 Bang era tracks, plus an alternate take of "Cherry, Cherry" in their original mono mixes with no overdubs, and sounding very good indeed.

Despite its sonic flaws, Double Gold presents a very compelling portrait of the artist as a young man. "Cherry, Cherry," "Solitary Man," "The Boat That I Row," "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon," "I'm A Believer," "Red, Red Wine," "Kentucky Woman," and others are classic tracks, strongly rooted in the Brill Building tradition, but also seriously rock and roll as well. Even if you think (as I do) that Diamond went off-track later in his career, the greatness of this material is hard to deny, and Diamond more than earned his reputation as "The Jewish Elvis" with these recordings.

As much as I would like to say this new Sony/Legacy release finally rights all the historical wrongs done to Diamond's Bang recordings, I can't quite bring myself to say so. The music has been mastered too loud and too bright, as if the producer decided the material needed to sound more "contemporary." Despite these flaws, it still sounds much better than most of the material on Double Gold, but unfortunately not as good as the same material on In My Lifetime.

It looks like I'm going to need to track down mono versions of the Bang LPs, The Feel of Neil Diamond and Just For You, if I want to hear this material sounding its best. I guess there are worse things I could have to do.

Update: The more I listen to this, the less enamored I am with the sound quality. There is a very hard, edgy quality to it that I do not find appealing at all. It sounds to me like the upper midrange has been boosted a lot, creating a sound that is excessively bright. I picked up a few 45s and they sound much nicer. The CD is more dynamically compressed than the 45s, but not by a huge amount (typically around 2 to 3 dB louder on average). I guess it was too much to expect them to get this 100% right after such a long wait, especially given the checkered release history of this material.

Neil's liner notes are very thoughtful and frank. He talks at length about the critical role Ellie Greenwich (RIP) and Jeff Barry twice played in getting his career started, showing faith in his abilities when no one else did. He also gives them the credit they deserve for the critical role they played in the studio to help shape these songs into hit singles.

NPR Story - Slow And Steady: Vinyl Survives

2011-03-04T14:50:00.008-05:00

I was working on a post on how many of the recent "vinyl revival" news stories that have been popping up over the past few years bug me, when I came across a very good story from NPR called "Slow And Steady: Vinyl Survives." NPR gives a reality-based account of the recent increase in vinyl sales, along with a thoughtful analysis of why many people still find the format appealing in the year 2011, despite the fact that there are more convenient and cheaper options available to today's music consumer.

The NPR story contains an implicit critique of one of the things that really bothers me about so many other stories devoted to the recent growth in vinyl sales:

"In recent years some headlines have cast an increase in sales for vinyl LPs — once considered a casualty of the CD era — as something like a beacon of hope for the struggling music industry. The reality isn't all that rosy. Though vinyl sales grew by 14% in 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan, they still counted for less than one percent of the year's total album sales."

That is a critical point that is often overlooked. Despite the "spectacular" rise in vinyl's popularity, it still accounts for less than 1% of all albums sold. Vinyl records are very much a specialist, niche, format, and likely to remain so in both the short and long term. Anyone who suggests otherwise is either dreaming or being dishonest. One year growth of 14% sounds spectacular when taken out-of-context, but there are numerous reasons why that growth is unlikely to be sustained long-term that have to do with both the physical reality of pressing records and format demographics, which the NPR piece covers quite nicely.

I highly recommend checking out this story because it avoids the cliches and hyperbole that plague so many of the other recent stories I've seen/heard/read. Rather than point out each of those stories specifically (there are a lot of them), I've created a handy parody that summarizes them instead:

Anchor: "Remember the good old days when you listened to scratchy vinyl records instead of CDs or downloads? Well those days are back!" [Cue sound effect of tonearm skidding across a record.]

Reporter: "While CD sales are down again this year and digital downloads are flat, there's one format that is experiencing amazing growth, and it represents the music industry's last, best hope: the old-fashioned vinyl record." [Again, cue the sound of tonearm skidding across a record, because you just can't use that baby enough.] "That's right, according to Soundscan, vinyl records experienced a remarkable 14% growth in sales last year." [At this point, be sure to neglect to mention that they still accounted for less than 1% of total album sales in 2010.] "And it's not just weird, aging baby boomers fueling this spectacular growth, it's weird young kids too."

[Cut to a socially maladjusted looking kid in a record store.]

Kid: "Vinyl is like cool and stuff. And it sounds way better than CD or MP3, it's, like, warm. MP3 isn't even really music. I hate MP3. And I hate the kids at my school. I spend all my money on vinyl."

[Cue clicking and popping vinyl noise sound effects.]

Reporter: "Vinyl's true believers say that the abhorrent noise that all sane people jettisoned the moment the CD hit the market is part of the 'special warmth' that makes it so appealing to them."

[Cut to a picture of a record spinning on a Crosley all-in-one record player that you can buy at Bed Bath & Beyond for $50 ($40 if you remembered your 20% off coupon) while Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" plays in the background.]

Reporter: "Yes, in today's high-tech, hurry-up world, the losers who are falling behind are finding comfort in the nostalgic glow of noisy records."

Anchor: "Thank you Sacha. Tomorrow night, we document the extreme psychological duress of Wall Street C.E.O's who are unfairly being asked to give back their bonus money after crashing the world's economy."

Okay, I exaggerate a little. But check out the NPR story, it's actually quite good.

Hank Steinbrenner Is A Big Fat Idiot, And I Hate The Yankees!

2011-02-23T12:37:00.001-05:00

With Spring Training getting under way and a new season of baseball on the horizon, I just want to say one thing: I hate the Yankees and Hank Steinbrenner is an even bigger idiot than his father was. No, I'm not all worked up about Hank's perceived slight against Derek Jeter. He can whine about Derek Jeter building a mansion to his heart's content as far as I'm concerned.

What bugs me is listening to a guy like Steinbrenner complain about "socialism." Here is a lesser heard quote from Steinbrenner taken from the same interview, speaking of MLB's current revenue sharing program:

"We've got to do a little something about that, and I know Bud wants to correct it in some way...Obviously, we're very much allies with the Red Sox and the Mets, the Dodgers, the Cubs, whoever in that area....At some point, if you don't want to worry about teams in minor markets, don't put teams in minor markets, or don't leave teams in minor markets if they're truly minor...Socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it, is never the answer."

Oy. Where to start? It's a pretty rich statement from a man who owns one of the most profitable franchises in professional sports and yet had no problem accepting $1.2 billion in taxpayer subsidies to build his team's (hideous) new stadium. You see, when the Yankees take money from New York's taxpayers, it's not "socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it," it's Hank Steinbrenner getting what's coming to him. But when the Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates take money from Hank Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees it's "communism," and that's never the answer. Right. And I won't even touch on the fact that MLB operates a monopoly thanks to an anti-trust exemption from the U.S. government.

Also, once MLB cuts loose all those "minor market" deadbeats Hank complains about, who are the Yankees going to play? How entertaining will it be to watch the Yankees play the Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers and the Cubs forty times every season? Will people still pay regularly pay +$2,000 per luxury seat to watch the Yankees play the same teams over and over again? And how many games will the Yankees win when they no longer have minor market teams with tiny payrolls to pad their schedule?

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think MLB's current revenue sharing system works particularly well. I don't see much evidence that the smaller-market teams who benefit from the system put the money back into payroll, which is the way the system is supposed to work. I'm certain there are dozens of better solutions to baseball's current payroll imbalance. I just don't particularly enjoy being lectured on the evils of "socialism" by the likes of Hank Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner is your typical "born on third and thinks he hit a triple" spoiled brat. He has the intellect of someone who figured out he was set for life in third grade and stopped paying attention in school around the same time.

Oh, and one more thing: Go O's!

The Feelies - Here Before: Now Available For Pre-Order

2011-02-21T16:07:00.003-05:00

The upcoming new Feelies album, Here Before, is now available for pre-order from Bar/None Records. The album is due to be released on April 12, 2011 as a digital download, on CD and on LP with a digital download card (which is how I will be ordering it). Bar/None did a fantastic job with the recent reissues of the Feelies first two albums, Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth. I bought both on LP and the albums were mastered extremely well and pressed on quiet vinyl. The digital download cards even gave you the option of downloading the albums plus bonus tracks in lossless audio quality (if you don't know what that means, don't worry about it, but trust me, it's a good thing). If you don't have those already, I can't recommend them highly enough.

Record company spiel:

After a 19 year break, the Feelies are back with Here Before an album of all new original material on Bar/None Records. The new album touches on different styles from the Feelies’ long history while adding new grooves and musical ideas to the mix. Electric and acoustic guitars melt together in archetypal Feelies fashion on songs like "Nobody Knows" and "Should Be Gone." Elsewhere there are slabs of driving garage rock like "When You Know" and "Time Is Right" and the down-tempo "Bluer Skies," and harmonically rich "Later On."

Here Before was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey produced by Feelies founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Besides Glenn on rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals, and Bill on guitar and vocals, the album features Feelies mainstays Brenda Sauter (bass, vocals), Stanley Demeski (drums), and Dave Weckerman (percussion).

My pre-order says the album will ship "on or before" April 12th. Here's hoping for before. Granted, I've waited nearly 20 years for a new Feelies album, but I'm feeling a little impatient nonetheless. I'll see if I can get some info on the mastering and pressing of the new LP for my fellow audio obsessives.

Update for fellow audio obsessives:

According to Bar/None, the LP was mastered at Tangerine by Andreas Meyer (who also did the first rate LP mastering for the reissues). The master he made specifically for vinyl was then sent to Paul Gold at Salt Mastering to make plates. The plates were sent to Rainbo Records to be pressed. This is the exact same chain that was in place for the Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth reissues, so this is very good news. The LP should be sonically excellent.

This time the download card will allow you to get the album at 320k MP3, which I regard as more than sufficient for iPod/portable use.

Girl, You'll Be Drinking A Coca-Cola Soon (Neil Diamond Coke Jingles)

2011-02-16T12:01:00.006-05:00

I remember a long time time ago, when such things seemed really important to me, having a debate with a friend of mine over whether there there was some objective criteria for calling music "good" or "bad." My friend's opinion was that there were objective grounds for making such statements, even if he lacked the ability to articulate the criteria explicitly. He pointed to music that appeared in commercials as an example of music that is "objectively bad." My own take was that there was no defensible objective criteria for judging music. In my view, there was only power. I argued that those with access to power have historically been able to subject their notions of "good" and "bad" on those with less access to power. "Taste" in my view was nothing more than an instrument of social control, and I viewed championing music judged to be in "poor taste" as a heroic act of resistance against a repressive society. (You see, I couldn't just like Cat Butt and Mudhoney because they rocked out righteously, there had to be some deeper reason.)

In retrospect I can see that both arguments are hopelessly naïve. But I also think a better rejoinder to my friend would have been to play these Coca-Cola jingles by Neil Diamond, because they're awesome.

Mudhoney - Head On The Curb (New LP Only Release)

2011-02-15T11:08:00.006-05:00

I just put in an order for this because, well, how could I not?

This vinyl-only release is Mid-period Mudhoney at its RAWEST. Original Bass Player Matt Lukin is in top form, as is the rest of the classic line-up, blasting out songs and ideas, some of which went on to be studio-fied for their Warner Bros debut PIECE OF CAKE, while others got lost to the dark crevices of time…UNTIL NOW. Besides the cover of SCTV classic I HATE THE BLOODY QUEEN, these recordings have NEVER been released, and represent a sonic assault that is pure Mudhoney. Raw, unabashed, and sometimes down-right no-fi. HEAD ON THE CURB writes a new chapter into Mudhoney’s legendary past.

Side A
1. Ritzville
2. I Want To Live
3. King Sandbox
4. 13th Floor Opening
5. Living Wreck
6. Acetone

Side B
1. No End In Sight
2. Underide
3. Fun And Games
4. Confusion
5. When In Rome
6. I Hate The Bloody Queen

All Songs By Mudhoney except for I HATE THE BLOODY QUEEN by The Queen Haters. Recorded in various garages, studios and caves in remote parts of Seattle, WA during the last decade of the 20th century. Photos by Charles Peterson

Wow! That is a lot of CAPS for an archival release, but dare I say it sounds like something worth SHOUTING about. I know Nirvana is the grunge band that everyone worships, but Mudhoney will always be my favorite. It's $18 shipped from Birdman Records. I'll report back when my copy arrives.

Update: I got my copy and can heartily recommend this release to any Mudhoney fan with a turntable. Don't buy it thinking you'll get one of those MP3 download cards--you won't. Sound quality is good enough not to detract from how great the music is. Mudhoney were not exactly known for burying their albums in studio gloss, but there is still something refreshing about hearing these songs in such a raw and direct way. The cover of "I Hate The Bloody Queen" is particularly brilliant.

Pure Joy

2011-02-09T10:38:00.004-05:00

I first became aware of Pure Joy when they released their 1990 LP Carnivore on the Popllama label. Carnivore is a nice slab of power-pop with a healthy dose of Cheap Trick influence. Pure Joy leader Rusty Rusty Willoughby's subsequent band Flop also mined the power-pop vein and gained enough attention to land on a major label (who subsequently did nothing to support them). In my mind I very much slotted Pure Joy into the power-pop ghetto (and I mean that in both a good and bad way).

So when I borrowed their 1986 self-titled EP from my friend Adam, I was a little surprised at the sounds I heard as the diamond vibrated in sympathy with the record groove. I expected a rougher version of what the band delivered on Carnivore, and what I heard instead was a band that sounded much more like The Chameleons UK, Echo & The Bunnymen or The Mighty Lemon Drops than any of the usual power-pop touchstones. It was only after listening to this that it dawned on me that the band obviously took their name from a track on the second The Teardrop Explodes album, Wilder.

After this revelation, I went back and listened to their fantastic 1988 LP Unsung [buy it!] that was not widely distributed until it was reissued by Flydaddy in 1994. The fixation with British neo-psychedelica is evident on this album, if not as obvious as it is on the EP, but since I approached the album from a power-pop frame when I listened to it previously, I hadn't noticed it before.

The other thing that surprised me about the EP was that despite the fact that it was self-released by the band, and predates their first widely distributed album by a good four years, the recording quality is very professional and the band's playing is polished. So not only does the EP not sound like a rougher version of Carnivore, it actually sounds slicker both in terms of production and performance than their later work. In fact, when I threw Carnivore on my turntable for the first time in many years, I was somewhat disappointed by the muffled sound of the recording which holds back the very energetic performances somewhat.

Pure Joy reunited for new albums in 1997 and 2003, and I plan on tracking those down soon. And if you ever come across a copy of this EP, pick it up!

Where Is The Love...For The Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Halftime Show?

2011-02-07T12:24:00.007-05:00

So it seems like The Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Halftime Show is being nearly unanimously panned and mocked. Being the contrarian that I am, I'd like to say a few words in defense of their performance.

I'd like to preface my comments by saying that personally I don't like the music of The Black Eyed Peas. From "Where Is The Love" in 2003, to "My Humps" in 2005, to "Imme Be" in 2009, right up to their current smash "The Time (Dirty Bit)," the music of the Black Eyed Peas could have been created by a complex and constantly improving set of algorithms designed specifically to annoy the heck out of me.

Insofar as this is the case, I have a grudging respect for the band. I'm a white man in his 40s, and it's my personal opinion that if the popular music of the day doesn't leave me saying "everything was better back in my day," then it is doing something very wrong. In a perverse way, I almost look forward to hearing how much more annoying I find the next Black Eyed Peas song than I did the last one. I feel like we have some personal contest going on, and just when I think their next song can't possibly annoy me as much as their last, they pull out a trick like interpolating the song from Dirty Dancing and drenching it in Auto-Tune. I'm pretty sure will.i.am is a genius of some sort, and I mean that sincerely.

With all that said, I felt like The Black Eyed Peas delivered more of what I think a Super Bowl performance should deliver than many of the recent Halftime shows. Ever since Janet Jackson bared her bejeweled nipple for a fraction of a second, the NFL has gotten pretty conservative with their choice of entertainment, leaning heavily on aging classic rockers like The Who, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney. I guess they figure the worst "wardrobe malfunction" that might happen in these cases is someone will lose their dentures, or a toupee will blow off. While that would be embarrassing, it wouldn't risk offending those extremely sensitive Americans who fear a microsecond peek at Janet Jackson's nipple might permanently scar their child's psyche.

While I like (even love) the music of many of these old geezers, their performances are very short on the sort of over-the-top glitz and showmanship that I think should be part of a good Super Bowl Halftime show. (I was only half-kidding when I said they should bring back Up With People). The other problem I have with these rockers' performances is that, by necessity while the vocals can be performed live, the music must be canned. Logistically, it's just not possible to get a good live sound set up in a stadium given the time constraints. Anyone who disses will.i.am and crew for not performing their music onstage should be aware that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers did the same thing, and believe me, it's not because they can't play. But the central problem here is that rock music performances are uniformly dull when the music is already in the can. Pop music can compensate for this shortcoming with synchronized dancing and other forms of razzmatazz (it just wouldn't work to have a troupe of dancers in light up suits dancing in time to "Born To Run," although I'd like to see someone try).

Okay, there were some obvious problems with The Black Eyed Peas performance, starting with the obvious fact that even with the help of Auto-Tune none of them other than Fergie can come close to singing on key. But as a show, I didn't think it was that bad. Those LED blockhead guys dancing onstage with the band at the end were pretty cool, and almost made me think of DEVO and the way they deconstructed popular music as spectacle. Slash appearing from the void in all his junkie glory wearing a light up top hat was totally bizarre, and kind of awesome in a really strange way. And it sounded like the crowd in that stadium loved every second of it.

So despite the fact that I don't like their music, I give The Black Eyed Peas credit for actually putting on a show with lots of flash and dazzle and showbiz schmaltz, and some pretty weird shit to boot. Personally, I think Super Bowl Halftime shows are better with a healthy dose of bad taste, and on that front The Black Eyed Peas more than delivered.

Where is the love people?

Super Bowl XLV - Where Are Up With People?

2011-02-03T22:25:00.003-05:00

It's a shame those positive, young go-getters sponsored by Halliburton, General Motors, Exxon, Searle, and others known as Up With People weren't available to perform at this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show. Instead we will be treated to a performance by a new musical combo called The Black Eyed Peas.

Can will.i.am, Fergie and friends scale the heights of Up With People's epochal performances in Super Bowls X, XIV, XVI and XX? Only time will tell. Will they be asked to perform at three more Super Bowls in order to match Up With People's record? Unlikely. Only three teams in NFL history have won as many Super Bowls as Up With People have performed Super Bowl Halftime shows (a feat they accomplished without the aid of performance enhancing drugs or Auto-Tune).

I recently scored a copy of Up With People's 1979 masterpiece, People Are The Energy, in VG+ condition at my local Goodwill (with a copy of 1982's Encore shoved in the sleeve for good measure). Better yet, the album cover had been signed by the entire cast (or a large portion of it in any case). I'll never understand what would drive a person to drop such a valuable treasure off at Goodwill, but their poor judgment is my gain.

I suppose tastes have changed a bit since 1986 when Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears featuring Jim McMahon, Walton Payton and William "Refrigerator" Perry defeated the Raymond Berry's New England Patriots featuring ~~Tony Eason~~ Steve Grogan, Craig James and John Hannah by the score of 46-10. Maybe I should get with the times and learn to enjoy the music of will.i.am and crew, but I'll probably turn the volume down on my TV and rock People Are The Energy during halftime instead. Better yet, maybe I'll hook my computer up to the TV and relive the golden age of Super Bowl Halftime entertainment by treating myself to Up With People's 1986 performance of "Beat of the Future."

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-28T09:34:00.001-05:00

R.I.P. - Charlie Louvin

2011-01-26T21:27:00.003-05:00

Charlie Louvin, half of the famed country duo The Louvin Brothers, died early this morning of complications from pancreatic cancer at the age of 83.

Charlie Louvin was born Charles Elzer Loudermilk (J.D. is his cousin) in Henager, Alabama in 1927, three years after his brother Ira. Charlie and Ira worked in the fields on their family's farm and began singing together as teenagers. Their musical partnership ended in 1963 in no small part due to Ira's excessive drinking which made him unpredictable and often violent. Ironically, Ira was struck and killed by a drunk driver in 1965, not long after a warrant was issued for his own arrest on a DUI charge.

Charlie kept performing and releasing solo albums, including a quartet of highly acclaimed albums on the Tompkins Square label during the 2000s. Charlie kept making music til very near the end of his life; his last album, The Battle Rages On, was released on True North Records on November 9, 2010.

The Louvin Brothers' Christmas music has been a staple of my holiday mixes for years, and their music has never been far from my turntable, CD player or computer. Charlie will be missed.

New Feelies Album On The Way + Tour Dates!

2011-01-25T20:15:00.003-05:00

If you've followed this blog for long you know that I am very excited about the fact that The Feelies have reunited and have recorded a new album. With recording completed some details about the new album, Here Before, have emerged:

Legendary NJ avant-pop the Feelies have announced 2011 tour dates which will follow the release of a new studio album. After a 19 year break, the Feelies are back with Here Before an album of all new original material on Bar/None Records. The new album touches on different styles from the Feelies’ long history while adding new grooves and musical ideas to the mix. Electric and acoustic guitars melt together in archetypal Feelies fashion on songs like "Nobody Knows" and "Should be Gone." Elsewhere there are slabs of driving garage rock like "When You Know" and "Time Is Right" and the down-tempo "Bluer Skies," and harmonically rich "Later On."

     The dates are:
      Fri-May-13 Brooklyn, NY Bell House
      Sat-May-14 Cambridge, MA Middle East (downstairs)
      Fri-Jun-17 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
      Sat-Jun-18 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

Here Before was recorded at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey produced by Feelies founders Glenn Mercer and Bill Million. Besides Glenn on rhythm/lead guitar and lead vocals, and Bill on guitar and vocals, the album features Feelies mainstays Brenda Sauter (bass, vocals), Stanley Demeski (drums), and Dave Weckerman (percussion). The album will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl with a download card.

The release date for Here Before is 04/12/2011, which coincidentally is the same day as the Labour of Lust LP reissue. You can hear a preview track, "Should Be Gone," right now at Pitchfork. Life is good.

Nick Lowe - Labour Of Lust Reissued At Last

2011-01-25T19:55:00.001-05:00

It was nearly three years ago that I lamented the fact that Nick Lowe's impossibly perfect second solo album, Labour Of Lust, was out-of-print. Since that time Yep Roc has continued reissuing classic Nick Lowe albums, and now I am happy to report a historic injustice has at long last been rectified as Labour Of Lust gets the deluxe reissue treatment:

As the bassist and primary songwriter for Brinsley Schwarz, Nick Lowe was one of the catalysts of the pub rock phenomenon in the early 1970s. As the co-founder and house producer at Stiff Records, he would help create the blueprint for the modern indie rock label and usher in British punk and new wave, helming historic recordings for The Damned, Elvis Costello, and The Pretenders. Here, his landmark second solo album Labour of Lust gets the deluxe reissue treatment, sporting an expanded 12pg. booklet with period photos, new essays and artwork by groundbreaking graphic artist Barney Bubbles.

The reissue also includes Nick's biggest US hit "Cruel To Be Kind," the originally U.K.-only "Endless Grey Ribbon" and U.S.-only "American Squirm" plus bonus B-side "Basing Street." Labour of Lust is the only of Lowe's solo albums to hold the distinction of featuring Nick's Rockpile cohorts Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams on every track. Originally released in 1979 and out of print for nearly twenty years, the album has been remastered from the original source, reintroducing this masterpiece to a new generation of pop music obsessives.

It's hard to believe an absolute classic album such as this could have been out-of-print for so long. CD reissue date is 03/15/2011 with an LP reissue to follow on 04/12/2011.

R.I.P. - Don Kirshner

2011-01-20T17:01:00.028-05:00

Don Kirshner (left) with Carole King and Gerry Goffin.

Don Kirshner died at the age of 76 on January 17th. Don was perhaps best known as the musical impresario behind the Monkees and later the Archies. At the time some joked that after the Monkees fired him, Don decided to work with a cartoon band because they couldn't (fire him, that is). But looking at Kirshner's career through this sort of rockist prism sells the man and his genius for spotting and nurturing songs and talent short.

First of all, there was much more to Kirshner's career than his role as a bubblegum impresario. He started off working closely with his friend, and fellow Bronx High School of Science alumnus, Bobby Darin. He co-founded (with Al Nevins of Three Suns fame) Aldon Music, one of the most important "Brill Building" music publishing companies. Writers employed by Aldon included Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weill, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller. A few of the hits that originated at Aldon include: "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "Up On The Roof," "The Loco-Motion," "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," "One Fine Day," "Walking In The Rain," "Stupid Cupid," "Uptown," "On Broadway," "We Got To Get Out of This Place" and (last but certainly not least) "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)." Had he done nothing but co-found Aldon Music, Kirshner would be an important figure in 20th Century popular music.

But of course he did do more. Much more. He was hired by the producers of the Monkees to provide the pre-fab four with songs (which would be needed quickly due to the demands of television). The songs he provided them with, including "Last Train To Clarksville," "I'm A Believer," and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" are rightly remembered as some of the greatest hits of the era, regardless of who actually preformed on them. And while much has been made of the fact that, yes, The Monkees did actually have their own songwriting talent (especially Michael Nesmith), it is unlikely anyone would care were it not for the outstanding material Kirshner brought to the band in the first place.

The Monkees fired Kirshner after he released "A Little Bit Of Me, A Little Bit Of You" as a single without the band's permission. Arguments about artistic integrity aside, it should be pointed out that it was a great choice for a single and one of the best songs released under the band's name. And rockist revisionist history aside, it should also be pointed out that the Monkees' sales slid precipitously after they fired Kirshner. They may have released some fine music post-Kirshner, but the the hits mostly dried up.

Kirshner's next project, The Archies, never got any respect from the rock establishment (not that it needed any), but I would still put "Sugar, Sugar" on a short list for greatest songs of the sixties. And despite the fact that the Archies failed to have as many big hits as The Monkees, many of their songs ("Jingle Jangle," "Bang-Shang-A-Lang," "Everything's Alright," etc.) hold up better than much of the "serious" rock music that was being championed by the rock music critical establishment at the time.

From 1971 until 1982 Kirshner hosted ABC's Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, which introduced such punk and new wave acts as The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Devo, The New York Dolls, and The Police to American television audiences at a time when few other U.S. television and radio outlets would touch them.

Here is what Kirshner had to say about his days helping produce hits in The Brill Building:

"I believe that after I'm gone, my grandchildren will be whistling these tunes. Whether they know that I published them or not - they will be whistling these tunes the same as they do songs from My Fair Lady and Camelot, and these tunes will be part of American culture - they'll be used in movies and so on. Of all the legacies that I have given, personally to me it's very important that I was able to come out of the streets of Harlem, out of my dad's tailor shop, and have the ability to create an environment where this sound will be part of American and international culture forever."

Don Kirshner is survived by his wife of 50 years, Sheila, two sons and five grandchildren. Whistle one of the many tunes Don Kirshner helped bring to the public's consciousness in their honor.

John Gabriel Borkman at BAM

2011-01-17T13:22:00.002-05:00

Marjorie and I went to Brooklyn this weekend to take in a performance of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman at BAM starring Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan. That is a lot of acting firepower on one very small, intimate stage, and of course we had a wonderful time. After the show Marjorie was lucky enough to get her picture taken with Alan Rickman, who is very generous with his fans.

This is the first time we've ever both spent the night way from our kids (Marjorie's Mom was nice enough to visit us in Rhode Island to watch them). It felt a little weird pretending to be grown ups for the weekend.

Lent For Promotional Use Only

2011-01-10T11:03:00.004-05:00

"Lent for Promotional Use Only. Any Sale or Unauthorized Transfer is Prohibited and Void. Subject to Return Upon Demand by Owner. Acceptance of This Record Constitutes Agreement to the Above."

I always wondered about this statement. Did simply stamping it on a record or CD make it true? Can a record company really claim ownership of something forever just by putting a stamp on it that says it's theirs? Turns out, not so much. From the LA Times:

A Ninth Circuit appeals panel sided with consumer advocates today, upholding a lower court's ruling that a record company couldn't block the resale of used CDs just by marking them as "not for sale."

The case was brought by Universal Music Group against someone who was selling promo CDs on eBay, but the ruling is also good news for used record store owners who no longer have to worry that a rep from UMG is going to show up at their shop to "reclaim" a bunch of promo LPs and CDs. And I can rest a little easier knowing that my white-label promo copy of Richard Lloyd's Alchemy really does belong to me, despite what the stamp says.

2010 Music Industry Numbers

2011-01-07T11:29:00.004-05:00

The recently released official 2010 music sales numbers have been released, and they continue to paint a picture of a music industry in serious decline. Overall album sales (including digital downloads) are down 12.7% overall. Digital album sales are up 13%, but that is not nearly enough to offset the 19% decline in physical album sales. Meanwhile digital track sales are up a paltry 1%.

Vinyl enthusiasts will likely crow about the massive "vinyl revival" underway due to a 14% rise in LP sales, but with 2.8 million LPs sold, this number still represents less than 1% of all albums sold in 2010. Vinyl remains nothing more than a niche product, and it in no way represents a solution to the music industry's current struggles. Anyone who tells you otherwise is delusional (and this is coming from someone with a collection of over 3,000 LPs).

So what is the solution? For that matter, what is the problem? Most in the music industry will be quick to point to illegal downloads. I suspect they are at least partly right, but the overall picture is more complicated. Illegal downloads have merely contributed to the widespread perception that the music industry no longer produces a product that is worth paying for. Failure to invest in catalog artists in favor of flavor-of-the-moment fluff has also contributed to this perception as well. When a product has a shelf life of two minutes, it's hard to convince people to pay for it.

I will be the first to admit that I do not know how to solve the problems currently facing the music industry. I do, however, think the equation is pretty simple. If the music industry wants to beat illegal downloads, they have to offer consumers something that is more convenient.

If you look at the history of recorded music, convenience has been the driving factor in every major technological or format shift starting with consumers adopting 78s over Edison cylinders, Columbia's 12" LPs over RCA's 7" 45s, compact cassettes over LPs, CDs over cassettes and LPs, and downloads over CDs. In each of these cases, price and sound quality were inevitably secondary to the drive toward greater convenience. Music industry execs need to stop thinking about how to get people to pay for downloads and start seriously considering what they can offer consumers that is more convenient.

One thing that would be more convenient than downloads (as I have suggested in the past) is a cloud based model where consumers pay a monthly subscription fee to access a virtually unlimited amount of music from a variety of devices. There may be other solutions as well. But what the music industry collectively needs to wrap its head around is that fact that if their industry is going to survive (and I don't think that is a given) downloads cannot be the end game. Inevitably something will supplant downloads, and it would be wise to think about what that something will be and (just as importantly) how to make money off it.

"Best" of 2010

2011-01-07T11:25:00.004-05:00

I haven't done a "best albums of the year" list in a couple years. I thought about doing one again this year. Trouble is, I am no good at making lists, especially if it involves ranking things. And as I've noted in the past, lists like this inevitably tell you more about the person who made the list than about the quality of the music involved.

That said, I'm going to give it a go. But rather than a traditional list (in honor of the NFL's weekly injury reports) I have broken things down into three categories: probable, questionable and doubtful.

Probable: By "probable" I mean that these are the albums from 2010 that I think I will probably still be listening to in ten years or so. Or maybe not. Get back to me in ten years and I'll let you know.

Afrocubism - Afrocubism
This is what the Buena Vista Social Club project was originally supposed to sound like before the Malian musicians failed to obtain visas and were unable to participate. There have been many strong links between Malian and Cuban music over the years, with the influence traveling both ways. This is really a wonderful album and I highly recommend it.

Beach House - Teen Dream
As a kid one of my favorite times to visit the beach was during the winter. There was something spooky and lonely about a walk on an empty beach, and seeing the boardwalk with all the shops closed. But there were new things to be discovered too, like how the wind made patterns on the sand that you could never see in the summer because it had been trod upon by so many feet. And sometimes I'd even find a lonely shop open on the boardwalk in the middle of the winter, and that just felt kind of weird and special. That's the kind of beach feeling I get from Beach House. It doesn't hurt that they also remind me of one of my all-time favorite bands, Opal. Released on Sub-Pop, the third album by this Baltimore duo has received a fair amount of hype (eMusic made it their #1 album of the year) and justifiably so.

Bruce Springsteen - The Promise
Is it old music? Is it new music? Which parts are old and which parts are new? Who cares? It's great music and if it wasn't released when it should have been, I'm very glad to have these songs in finished form in 2010.

Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
Back in 2005 the former leader of Orange Juice suffered two cerebral hemorrhages resulting in aphasia (loss of speech ability). It was unknown whether Collins would ever speak again let alone record. For a time he could only repeat four things over and over again: "yes," "no," "Grace Maxwell" [the name of his wife] and the phrase "the possibilities are endless." So the fact that Collins released a new album in 2010 (his first to be recorded since his illness) is a minor miracle. The fact that it is one of the best of his career is a triumph of the human spirit. The possibilities are endless indeed.

Elizabeth Mitchell - Sunny Day
Some would say Elizabeth Mitchell (who with her husband Daniel Littleton are also members of Ida) makes "children's music." I prefer to think of it as "family music." Here is what I had to say about the album in a review I posted on Amazon:

Before we had a professional "recording industry"--and before it became "normal" for music to take the form of a shrink wrapped package, or a formless succession of digits downloaded to a computer--people would gather around in their homes or community spaces and play music amongst family, friends and neighbors. Some musicians were better than others, but the music helped bind them all together into a coherent community. Then came Edison cylinders, Victrolas, LPs, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, iPods, and other technologies that made pre-recorded music ever more easily accessible to consumers. Much beautiful music was created during this time, but as music making evolved (devolved?) into a monopolistic industry, something awful happened as well....music became the exclusive domain of "professionals" and people stopped creating and sharing music in their own private lives (not entirely perhaps, but you get my point). While music was (and is) everywhere, it became less and less meaningful within the context of our daily lives and more like sonic wallpaper; something to distract us as we drive to work or multi-task on the computer.

Sunny Day is an album that in its beautiful simplicity harkens back to the feeling of that time before there was a music industry, and making music with family and friends seemed as natural (and necessary) as family meal time. It's a lovely album that creates a more deeply meaningful space for music in the lives of parents and their children than perhaps many of us are used to (or ready for). This is music made to be shared with the whole family, and I think it's really beautiful that it was made by a family. There is just such a special vibe to the whole album that simply would not be possible without the musical contributions and artistic input of Elizabeth's husband Daniel Littleton and their beautiful daughter Storey (not to mention friends like Levon Helm, Dan Zanes and Jon Langford). This is not just music for parents or children to sit and "listen" to, it's meant to be shared, and you and your kids should sing along and join in the fun. I have trouble understanding those here [referring to other Amazon reviewers] who have criticized Storey's contributions to this lovely album. Perhaps they don't understand, as Elizabeth and family do, that music is at its best when it is born of love and shared among family and friends.

While the music on this album looks back to the past in many ways, it is also perfect for our current moment in history (one that finds the recorded music industry of the 20th Century collapsing), and looks forward to a (hopefully better) future in which music is once again central to our daily lives, deeply meaningful, and shared and created within loving, supportive family and community environments. Thank you to Elizabeth, Daniel, Storey, and friends for showing us the way forward.

Laura Veirs - July Flame
I have to thank my friend Pete for turning me on to this album.

Pernice Brothers - Goodbye, Killer
When the last Pernice Brothers album, Live A Little, came out I think I was starting to feel a little burned out on Joe Pernice. It's not that I thought the album was bad, it's just that nothing about it particularly grabbed me. It happens. Goodbye, Killer on the other hand sunk into my consciousness right away and never let go. Maybe it was Ric Menck's drumming that made the difference. Oh, and the guys at Pitchfork hated it. What better reason could there be to love this album?

Robyn Hitchcock - Propellor Time
After more than three decades it would be easy to start taking Robyn Hitchcock for granted and leaving him off lists like this. That would be a mistake. Unlike many of his contemporaries Hitchcock is not releasing pale imitations of past glories. Propellor Time can stand proudly next to any album in his discography. Hitchcock has described this album as his "Basement Tapes" album. I don't really hear that, although his vocals on "The Afterlight" do have a certain "Yeah, Heavy and a Bottle of Bread" quality to them. Perhaps he had a nose full of puss when he recorded it? If I was ranking albums numerically, this would be a strong contender for #1.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
Sharon just keeps on releasing great, classic soul albums that sound like they could have been recorded in 1973, but somehow manage to sound totally fresh and relevant in 2010. Sharon backs off the funk just a bit on The Hard Way, and some of the arrangements remind me a bit of classic Dionne Warwick. But Sharon's tough, soulful voice prevents even the possibility of things becoming too precious.

Sharon Van Etten - Epic

I had not heard of Sharon Van Etten until I saw this album popping up on some year-end best-of lists. What a discovery. The first track "A Crime" might fool you into thinking you are in fairly conventional singer-songwriter territory. Van Etten strums a repeated guitar figure over confessional lyrics ("To say the things i want to say to you would be a crime/To admit I'm still in love with you, after all this time"). What kept me listening through the opening track was Van Etten's voice. She has a remarkable control over her vocals that makes me believe she must have some formal music training in her background, although her voice always sounds raw and honest, and never too "pretty." Things get much more interesting after the first track as the album builds in intensity, culminating with the penultimate track "One Day." The songs are without exception personal in nature and often deal with the more painful aspects of relationships, but Van Etten never sounds self-pitying (just honest). If you are only going to check out one new artist from 2010, make it Sharon Van Etten. Highly, highly recommended.

Stereolab - Not Music
I will admit that I got bored with Stereolab for a while. But 2008's Chemical Chords caught my ear, and though it was hard to say they were doing anything different than before, I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was a case of absence making the heart grown fonder. Not Music was mostly recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords, but mixed and edited later. Apparently Stereolab has taken a hiatus from touring and recording. If this is the last album the band releases, it is a fitting capstone to an extraordinary career. By turns accessible and experimental, it's everything you could want in a Stereolab album. Lætitia Sadier also released a solo album in 2010, but I have yet to hear it.

Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
Teenage Fanclub is another band that it would be too easy to take for granted. Years after being a somewhat over-hyped "next big thing" the band is releasing some of the best music of their career. Shadows has a softer quality to it than much of their past work, at times recalling the gentler moments on Love's Forever Changes, and it suits the wonderful songs on this album perfectly.

Tom Zé - Estudando A Bossa - Nordeste Plaza
I believe this album was originally released in Brazil in 2008 as part of the celebration of 50 years of Bossa Nova, but it wasn't released in the U.S. until 2010. Zé is not a Brazilian musician one typically associates with the Bossa Nova style, having earned fame as part of the more experimental and politically engaged Tropicália movement that began in the 1960s. The first part of the title translates as "Studying the bossa" (or perhaps "Studying the thing"), and Zé does show a surprising facility with the style which leads him to create some of the most easily accessible music of his career. Of course because this is Zé there are plenty of strange, almost psychedelic, flourishes and bits of dissonance one would not expect to hear on a João Gilberto album. I do not understand much Portuguese, but I get the sense that some of the lyrics are pretty weird (especially if the brief English lyrics sung by David Byrne are any indication). All of the songs are Zé originals, but each refers to a famous bossa nova song. If you have even a passing familiarity with Bossa Nova you will recognize the fragments of "How Insensitive" or "O Pato" that appear in songs like "Outra Insensatez, Poe!" and "Filho Do Pato." With Estudando A Bossa Zé has created a tribute to the Bossa Nova that is filled with love, but is totally devoid of reverence. In doing so, he has produced a work that makes a better case for the ongoing relevance of the style than a more traditional tribute possibly could have.

Questionable: "Questionable" doesn't mean I think these albums or bad, or even necessarily of any lesser quality than the ones I listed as "probable." Some of them I just haven't listened to enough times to make a real judgment. Others might take more time to fully sink in.

Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love
Grinderman - Grinderman 2
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Hawk
Johnny Cash - American VI: Ain't No Grave
Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
The New Pornographers - Together
The Posies - Blood Candy
Sun Kil Moon - Admiral Fell Promises
Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Mojo
Vampire Weekend- Contra
The Vaselines - Sex With An Ex

Doubtful: Again, "doubtful" doesn't mean I think something is bad. It's just that right now, from my vantage point in early 2011, I think it's doubtful that these are albums I'll be listening to ten years from now. Some of them are by favorite artists of mine. But when I'm in the mood for Elvis Costello in his rustic, Americana mode am I going to pull out National Ransom or King Of America? But any one of these albums is still worth hearing in my opinion.

Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Devo - Something For Everybody
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be
Elvis Costello - National Ransom
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
Neil Young - Le Noise
Richard Thompson - Dream Attic
She & Him - Volume Two
Sinking Ships - Museum Quality Capture

RIP: Captain Beefheart

2010-12-17T17:00:00.002-05:00

Captain Beefheart is dead. I'm feeling very sad about this. I'll post more later.

Santa

2010-12-15T15:46:00.006-05:00

Yesterday in the car my four-year-old daughter said to me "Daddy, I've been talking to the Easter Bunny, and he thinks you and Mommy are Santa." All I could think to say in reply was "Why on earth would the Easter Bunny tell you a thing like that?"

Anyway, thinking back on it, I can't remember a time when I actually believed in Santa Claus. Maybe I did at some point, but the earliest thing I can remember thinking about Santa was that it was a cute story that I should play along with because it made my parents happy. Actually, that's going too far. I certainly enjoyed playing along too. And maybe there was a part of me that wanted to believe. Maybe there was even the tiniest part of me that did believe. Maybe.

I remember one year my Dad climbed up on the roof of the our house on Christmas Eve and stomped around and shook some sleigh bells while my brother and I were in bed. I didn't for a second believe Santa and a bunch of flying reindeer had landed on our roof. On the other hand, the fact that I knew it was my Dad didn't make it any less exciting for me. I was practically peeing in my pajamas in anticipation of the next morning. And I only loved my Dad more for going to such extraordinary lengths to preserve such a fantastic fiction. And even though I knew the "truth," I never felt like I was being "lied" to either.

Despite my premature skepticism, or perhaps because of it, I insisted that I really did believe in Santa until a much older age than most kids. I remember coming home from school and saying things like "some of the kids say they're no such thing as Santa, but I know they're wrong." To this day I don't think I've once told my parents I don't believe in Santa Claus, and if they asked me tomorrow, I'd probably still tell them I did. Maybe that's because I still want to believe. Or maybe it's because there is some tiny little part of me that still does. Maybe.

The Ghosts Of Christmas Past, plus Snuky Tate!

2010-12-12T15:04:00.007-05:00

I re-uploaded my Holiday compilations from 2008 and 2007 for a limited period of time. [Limited period of time now expired, sorry.] Download links can be found in the original posts. There's lots of Holiday fun from the likes of The Sonics, Detroit Junior, Bud Logan, The Louvin Brothers, Beck, Milton DeLugg and his Little Eskimos, Sonic Youth, Redd Kross, Shonen Knife, George Jones and others.

As an added bonus, here's a rather strange Christmas track from Snuky Tate. How do I describe Snuky Tate? Snuky started out as a punk rocker, but by the time he released his first album, BABYLON under PRESSURE, on Chris Stein's Animal Records in 1982, he was making music that was pretty hard to categorize. No Wave Reggae maybe? "Afreakmas" melds African style percussion and chanting with Christmas bells and a jubilant Yuletide message. "Merry Christmas? Merry Everything!"

Snuky has a Facebook page, despite having passed on in 1998. Lots of people stop by his page and say things like "Hey Snuky, remember me from that gig in Toronto in 1978?" even though the page is quite clear about Snuky's current whereabouts. I guess it is too much to expect Facebook to have an I.Q. requirement, since you apparently don't even have to be a living person to have an account.