All in all, a pretty interesting vinyl-related weekend at ol’ TVD HQ. For starters, in regard to the aforementioned trip to Orpheus records on Saturday, it turns out that Ms. TVD actually purchased more LP’s than yours truly. (What th’?) And, after staring down the task for QUITE some time now, TVD HQ today sports a fully alphabetized LP collection–which is far easier typed than done, I assure you. And as such, I realized I had quite a few Beatle Bootlegs among the newly organized archives–and thus, an informal theme week was born…
Rick Carlisle at Orpheus Records in Clarendon. (Photo by John Mcdonnell)
Well, by a month. Owner Rick Carlisle tells TVD that the lease on the Clarendon location has been extended a month and that they will remain open until the end of April–while the used vinyl is STILL 50% off. We were by yesterday and got our hands on this 30-year Yep Rock reissue…and while this spanking new, 180-gram, 2LP set itself wasn’t 50% off, the $20 was well spent for this gem. See ya on April 19th?
Well, sure – I grew up on the Jersey Shore…but I was nothing close to a Springsteen fan. It took me until my thirties to actually get The Boss, and much of that is purely nostalgia. (I’m on board now, but still…) This Meat Loaf record…with all of its bluster and blather filled the gap just fine, thank you. Motorcycles belching out from the grave, tenuous moments in the back seats of cars, hot summer nights on the beach…this was the soundtrack to that road map. Smell the ocean? I do.
Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell LP (Mp3) This is the whole LP…reordered for maximum effect. And the last of the guilty pleasures for now. (Until I can find my Culture Club LP…it’s here SOMEplace….)
It just gets worse and worse, doesn’t it? I’m sure a third of you are wondering to what level of depravity TVD will sink this week, another third saw this round-house punch coming since Monday when this sick salad began to be tossed–and the rest of you are making that infamous Lee Harvey Oswald face as TVD loads this morning…But fight it, I can’t–these songs kill in their 1970’s FM radio, AOR way. (That is, permanently downloaded and cached.)
Once while taking a late night cab from the airport into downtown San Francisco, “Lights” came on the radio in the taxi as I’m looking out the window at the literal lights. The cab driver leaned over the seat to me and said, “Yea, man, great song, huh?” And it was. (And is.)
Despite the volume of whiskey and other things ingested at the prompting of my high school pal Noel to better “get” Yes — it just never happened. He became a Yes-aholic, and me? Well, I preferred tunes that weren’t 8 minutes long — or a whole album side long. Sheezus. What torture. Make mine punk or new wave. But a funny thing happened — Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman left Yes and the Buggles – the f’n BUGGLES – joined! What th’? I was in clover and Noel was in–censed. And you guys get guilty pleasure/embarrassing post #3!
Maybe it’s because I miss Queen so much. Or the quality of the Roy Thomas Baker production with those sonic flourishes that have been marinating in my brain since childhood. Or maybe it’s the cool–albeit corny–cover art. Or maybe it’s because, while waiting with Big Andy for The Darkness to hit the stage at the 9:30, they played nothing but Thin Lizzy to warm up the crowd. Then Dan Hawkins comes out wearing a classic Thin Lizzy t-shirt. That could be it. But I tell you one thing, it’s not the falsetto. Certainly not the falsetto.
It’s a tough life over here at TVD, what with having to conjure up some fine, fine music each week–rummaging through the archives to find the killer overlooked tracks and the hidden gems amidst the vinyl stacks. Yet, there’s a deep, dark underbelly to this pursuit: the guilty pleasure. They’re LP’s or bands you might not admit to liking in public conversation, but at home, squirreled away, you’re tapping your toe and singing along to some seriously suspect selections. So, in the name of transparency and candor, we’ll pull back the curtain a bit and reveal a few dark, dark secrets this week…and we hope you’ll forgive us.
Now, I can already hear the gasps of horror and disgust from my blog brethren Mick and Davy – but dammit, this is a fine record. I’m no Genesis or Phil FAN, but from first track to last (and at age 13) I was hooked. Tuneful, NOT ponderous nor fey (Hi Pete!) this release has some fine sequential moments they were to never repeat again. (Abacab has a moment or two – but naah.) Let fly with the barbs!
…for my pop. In a “hey you got your rock in my classical/no you got your classical in my rock” way, dad and I always found common ground with ELO and this LP in particular when it was new…blasting ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ on the car radio, tooling around the town while coming up with weirder and funnier band names than Electric Light Orchestra.
Elvis Costello’s next solo studio album, curiously dubbed “Momofuku,” will arrive April 22 via Lost Highway. For the time being, the set will be released only on vinyl, with a digital download code included in the package.
No other details have been released about the follow-up to 2004’s “The Delivery Man,” Costello’s Lost Highway debut with his band the Imposters. Since then, Costello recorded “The River in Reverse” with pianist Allen Toussaint and supervised the first wave of his back catalog reissues through Universal. The most recent of those, “This Year’s Model,” arrived March 4. (Via billboard.com)
…reminds me that the smallest, most innocuous of events–in this case, a rainy afternoon, mid-Fall trip to another record store (Record World in Seaview Square Mall–where yours truly would ultimately find employment)…could pay the largest dividends many years on. So, you parents out there, pull your kids away from Guitar Hero for one afternoon and take them to an honest-to-goodness, brick-and-mortar record store. Many years down the line they might find themselves eternally grateful–and who knows–they may even blog about it some day…
Talking with Ms. TVD last night, I was reminded that my dad once toured with the Ringling Brothers Circus — not as a performer but as someone hired to film the goings-on from the performances to the backstage stuff. She was kinda surprised to hear that and I guess I hadn’t thought about it in quite a while. But often when I was a kid, the rough, uncut footage would come out and dad would narrate through the soundless portions. I had seen the footage pretty darn often and became pretty disinterested when he’d roll through the nostalgia AGAIN after setting up the projector and the slide screen for the umpteenth time.
So, it was in June 1980 when my folks thought they’d throw me a surprise birthday party. Of course I didn’t know that at the time and I’m sure I jumped at the offer to again hit the Two Guys for a record (that Pretenders LP up there…) and other stops along the way to keep me out of the house while the invited classmates and friends came over. Standard stuff – I’m out on a mini-shopping birthday spree, distracted and return to the house and everyone whoops and hollers. Pretty surprising and a rather cool memory until my dad thought the timing would be juuust right to break out the circus footage AGAIN. Kinda mortified in a 13-year old way.
Twenty-seven years on from that, I reconnected with a friend who was actually at that surprise birthday party and, as we were reminiscing about this and that, the party came up and he’s all about “the awesomely cool circus footage” he recalls from that day. And now–who knew?–I’m all about it too.
Metal giants announce intimate signing session Metallica will celebrate this year’s ‘Record Store Day’ with an intimate signing session on April 19. The band will appear at Rasputin Music Store in Mountain View, California, to mark the day, which celebrates independent record stores. Approximately 400 wristbands will be issued for the event – queuing can begin at 8am, and the store will open at 10am.
Speaking on their official website Metallica.com the band said: “Come on down to the store, say ‘Hi,’ bring some stuff for us to sign, and in the spirit of supporting your local independent record store maybe you’ll want to do a little shopping while you’re there.” (Via NME)
I was 11 and obsessed with “Let’s Go.” Played it over and over again. Finally, I get my hands on the LP and I’m standing in the kitchen with my dad after dinner, just having returned from Two Guys with the record. My mom’s looking at the cover like, “Reallly?” with one eyebrow raised. My dad says, “Honey, it’s a VARGAS.” Nothing ever mentioned again.
All in all, a pretty interesting vinyl-related weekend at ol’ TVD HQ. For starters, in regard to the aforementioned trip to Orpheus records on Saturday, it turns out that Ms. TVD actually purchased more LP’s than yours truly. (What th’?) And, after staring down the task for QUITE some time now, TVD HQ today sports a fully alphabetized LP collection–which is far easier typed than done, I assure you. And as such, I realized I had quite a few Beatle Bootlegs among the newly organized archives–and thus, an informal theme week was born…
