Welcome to the TVD Record Store Club for the week ending 1/22/16.
The TVD Record Store Club isanother free feature we’ve added to The TVD Record Store Locator App that recently relaunched refreshed and rebranded. The Club points to a record store agenda that we’re assembling for your weekend now that new release vinyl lands in stores on Fridays—AND for the early part of the week coming when those mom and pops could use the foot traffic.
Every Thursday we’ll be tipping you off right here at TVD—and within the app at the Club tab—to releases of merit newly on store shelves, along with in-store ticket giveaways you can win by simply waving the app, pricing incentives, contests, cool partner initiatives, and a host of surprises we’re looking forward to putting in your pocket on the regular.
It’s fair to say the “dead” of winter has begun. Today it’s even in dark and cold in sunny LA. “Hear” we are I guess—pretty much ground zero for new music in 2016. Along with the classic ephemeral rock star, the most impressive sight of early 2016 has been the line up of Primavera Festival.
Wow, set in the heart of one of the coolest cities on earth, a serious dream line up for Idelic Hour fans .
Musically, the world is a great big place and nowhere is this more evident than in the career of Daniela Mercury. Though hardly unknown outside of her native Brazil, the Bahian-born singer is criminally unknown in the United States. She’s had more #1 hits in Brazil than any other female artist. Globally she’s sold over 20 million albums. Daniela Mercury is a superstar, a true international icon.
Her latest album, Virtual Vinyl, continues her upward trajectory from her start as a dancer through her long career as a solo artist. The album is a fusion of styles that, despite having only one song in English, her whimsical, idealized view of life, “Frogs in the Sky,” is very accessible to most listeners.
It hints at her roots in Salvador de Bahia, the musical capital of Brazil, and the grand Trios Eléctricos—giant rolling party machines, which are central to Carnival celebrations in the city. But it also reaches into the modern era with electronic, rock, and reggae touches.
So Glenn Frey is dead. I feel for his loved ones and fans, but he never meant shit to me. The Eagles personified so many negative things: corporate rock, misogyny, a sneering contempt for the punks who supplanted them in Hollywood, and a sybaritic life style that involved mountains of cocaine snorted in David Geffin’s hot tub and a proclivity for flying Lear jets to sexual assignations that led them to quip, “Love ‘em and Lear ‘em.”
Still, unlike almost all of my friends, I didn’t despise the entire body of their work. The Eagles had their moments, one or two cool songs on each of the five albums that preceded 1979’s The Long Run. I count nine songs that I like in all, two of which I enjoy—although it was hardly their creators’ intention—because they make me laugh. As for The Long Run, I don’t particularly care for any of its tunes. The Eagles spent two long years producing it, and I find it simply bland.
Blatant opportunists at heart, Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Company were unafraid to change skins; they began as a bona fide Levis-wearing country rock band, but switched directions following the poor sales of their sophomore LP, 1973’s Desperado. No more were they the Laurel Canyon “outlaws” about whom Tom Waits famously said, “Those guys grew up in L.A…. they don’t have cow shit on their boots, just dog shit from Laurel Canyon.” Instead they toughened up their sound, and reinvented themselves as a hard rock band with a propensity for writing award-winning ballads. And it worked. Instead of fading away like plenty of their ersatz country rock compatriots, they climbed the charts until the air got thin and even Stevie Nicks wanted to board that Lear jet of theirs.
Old music is outselling new music for the first time in history: The term “catalogue” refers to albums released more than 18 months ago. According to Nielsen’s annual year end music report, catalogue albums outsold current releases by 4.3 million copies, something never before seen in the industry. Just 10 years ago, current music sales outpaced catalogue music by over 150 million albums. Keep in mind that these stats don’t include album streams, but regardless, it’s a significant turning point.
Meaning behind David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ artwork revealed: The vinyl record sees the star cut from its black sleeve, showing the record inside. “The fact that you can see the record as a physical thing that degrades, it get scratched as soon as it comes into being, that is a comment on mortality too,” Barnbrook said of its design.
Boy From Rush’s ‘Power Windows’ Album Cover Owns a Record Store Now: The boy from Rush‘s Power Windows is all grown up, and he’s now stocking copies of the 1985 album at his own record shop. In fact, Neill Cunningham has assembled an entire wall of the records, just behind the counter at Toronto’s Pandemonium Records, thanks to Rush’s ongoing vinyl reissue campaign.
Vintage record fair returns to Stourbridge: “As ever you’ll find a great selection of rare, collectable and desirable vinyl, CDs and music memorabilia spread out over two rooms from our friendly and knowledgeable traders.”
9 creative vinyl storage ideas: Call them vinyl, phonograph, or gramophone records, or Long Play (LP) records, only an ardent collector knows the anguish of hedef having adequate storage space for them. There’s absolutely no way the records can be stacked in a heap on the floor. You require a proper (read: fashionable) organizing and storing method…
PHOTO: EILON PAZ, DUST & GROOVES | Taste makers emerge to set the standard for future development in the arts. This Friday night, the Howlin’ Wolf is the place to be to witness the first ever New Orleans performance of DJ Rich Medina (pictured below). Known primarily as the vinyl junkie who jumpstarted the Afrobeat/Hi Life scene on the east coast a decade ago, he is also a killer performer on the wheels of steel who seamlessly blends multi-genre sets.
His performance is part of the second local iteration of Art, Beats, and Lyrics, a take back of sorts designed to bring art and music out of the galleries and portfolios of the one percent and into the hands of the people.
The series explores hip-hop while highlighting urban art forms expressed through photography, graffiti, paintings, multi-media, DJing, and live music. It is presented by Jack Daniels and Scarface as well as some local artists are also scheduled to perform.
If you haven’t come across Berlin duo Me and My Drummer to date—do yourself a favor. I’m excited for their upcoming second album, Love is a Fridge from which they’ve released their latest single “Blue Splinter View.”
The song itself is wonderful—a laid back Americana influenced track with verses that sway back and forth, rocking gently before being blown away by Charlotte Brandl’s powerful vocals. However, as this is a video review and despite my enjoyment of the song, I have to admit being rather disappointed by the visual accompaniment.
The entire four and a half minutes of the video sees Brandl slowly rotating while singing the song, not moving except to occasionally change the angle of her head. Meanwhile, perhaps trying to emphasise the sense of openness that the Americana style often conveys, several different skyscapes are projected onto a wall behind her.
After a well-earned break, the trio from A Badge Of Friendship are back with their first live recorded show of 2016.
This week they once again chat to the lovely Jo Kendall and Polly Glass from Classic Rock magazine and discuss the year ahead and, of course, the sad losses of the year so far.
Check out the full track listing for this week’s show below:
On the list of compulsory post-punk, This Heat’s records reside near the very top. However, the music of the trio formed in January of 1976 in Camberwell, South London is more aptly described as a riveting and widely influential plunge into the then largely uncharted realms of experimental rock. The two albums and an EP they released prior to breaking up in 1982 present a stimulating interweaving of genre and technique; in the years since the sounds haven’t aged a bit. On January 22 Modern Classics Recordings offers vinyl editions of This Heat, “Health and Efficiency” and Deceit. They’re available through Light in the Attic separately or in a cost-effective bundle.
For nearly their entire existence, This Heat consisted of vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Charles Bullen, Charles Hayward, and Gareth Edwards. Prior to formation Hayward had the most experience, serving in Mal Dean’s Amazing Band and for a few moments in the enduring space-prog entity Gong. He made his recording debut as part of Quiet Sun, playing on Mainstream from 1975 while contributing to band member Phil Manzanera’s Diamond Head the same year.
Hayward first teamed with Bullen circa ’74 in the outfit Radar Favourites; other participants included Geoff Leigh (Henry Cow), Jack Monck (Syd Barrett, Delivery), and G.F. Fitz-Gerald (of the cult item Mouseproof). Archival material by Radar Favourites surfaced in 2010 on Reel Recordings, though it’s currently out of print and Bullen’s not on it. The pair was also in Dolphin Logic; upon meeting Williams, This Heat sprang to life.
The primary roles were Hayward on drums, Bullen on guitar, and Williams on bass, and the three eventually settled into their Cold Storage recording space, so named as it was a converted meat locker, and took a studio-based approach to experimentation (a whole mess of live boots do exist, though); this activity is often cited as a harbinger/early example of post-punk, but as reinforced by the ’76-’77 demos, work which resulted in their first airplay via John Peel (their sessions for the DJ are highly enlightening), from the outset there was hardly anything punk in This Heat’s constitution.
Newcastle Store Raffles Rare Bowie Vinyl for Charity: A leading independent record store in Newcastle has obtained a much sought-after vinyl copy of David Bowie’s final album Blackstar, released just two days before his death, which is to be raffled to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
CES 2016: Analogue revival fuzzies the future of digital: The ongoing revival of vinyl records as a listening format drove a sea-change in product releases, with dozens of new turntables on display. These varied from Victrola’s Dansette-style suitcase models (available in a range of suitably retro colourways) to Audio-Technica’s Bluetooth vinyl turntable, which can transmit music to as many as eight devices simultaneously, and Panasonic’s Technics resurrection of its legendary SL1200 turntable for a limited edition 50th anniversary model, to the delight of DJs of a certain vintage everywhere.
Vinyl director Martin Scorsese chooses his favorite records: ‘Music has always inspired me’: “I own so much vinyl,” he says. “78s that I collected and that my uncle had, and 45s and LPs. I think I probably have some very rare 45s that I bought when I was young…And I love the sound of those 45s. Every scratch…”
The Analog Assembly returns with pop-up vinyl fair: The vinyl culture is growing in Singapore, and The Analog Assembly aims to nurture that. With a successful first round back in July 2015, attracting swarms of music lovers from all over the country, the events organizer is back to hold its second instalment at The Projector on February 20th.
Supergroups come and go but allegiances can be forever. Founded by mastermind Mark Menghi, Metal Allegiance has quickly become the torch-bearer for the metal community world-wide. More than just a band, it’s a movement bringing together the best of the best to keep the legacy of classic metal alive and well.
The core of Metal Allegiance features Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Dave Ellefson (Megadeth), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and Mark Menghi. The show on this night consisted of mostly covers but also a few select tracks from their debut album which features even more metal alums which are way too many to list here—but it’s a seriously impressive list that reads like a who’s who of metal past and present.
While I would have loved to hear a few more originals from the record in the set, the few that they played were everything that metal should be; loud, aggressive, and worthy of an entire crowd pumping their devil horns in the air. Alex Skolnick was absolutely on fire and melted every single face in the crowd with blistering guitar solos that he made look easy.
An all-star group of New York and New Orleans musicians and vocalists will present the music of the great jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald modified, deconstructed, revamped, and reimagined for the current era. The show begins at 8 PM on Thursday night at Chickie Wah Wah and will feature two, 90-minute sets of music.
The project is the brainchild of Graham Hawthorne, one of the most highly regarded drummers in the music world. Formerly based in New York City, Hawthorne recently relocated to New Orleans. The musicians and singers will present a series of individual vocalists as well as male/ female duets representing Ella’s solo work and her efforts with male vocalists such as Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby. The new arrangements are by Hawthorne.
The cast of musicians and vocalists involved in this theatrical production include familiar faces from New Orleans and some serious talent out of New York. Brent Carter, an incredible, New York-based soul singer, will be joined by New Orleans vocalists Kristina Morales, Cole Williams, Sandra Grace Johnson, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, and Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph.
“I don’t have any childhood memories of vinyl. I think my parents just used the record player and the CD player interchangeably and it was on a very high shelf so I couldn’t tell and didn’t really care. My house was just always full of music, coming from the speakers or my dad’s piano/ guitar/ mouth. All music all the time.”
“My first real interaction with vinyl was on a trip to NYC my freshman year of college. It was my first trip without my parents and it was to lay down a track with a producer who had been pursuing me. That sentence sounds so flashy and cool but it was actually not a good situation at all. That dude turned out to be very aggressive and inappropriate and it was a bit of a nightmare that landed me and the friend who came with me in a basement with 2 car engines, a rocking horse, a bunch of open cans of paint, and thousands of cardboard boxes.
We slept on a velvet couch next to a coffee table full of drugs after talking our way out of sleeping on the couch next to his bed… it was… whatever…that’s not the point. The only shining moment of that experience was listening to Abbey Road on vinyl in that basement. I grew up with The Beatles. The all-music-all-the-time was like 73% Beatles. I sat on that couch and thought about home, and my parents. They would have freaked OUT if they knew the situation I was in.
For those of you not in know, Hollyoaks is an English soap opera set in a village in Northern England where, basically, everything goes wrong. One actress from the show, Twinnie Lee Moore decided to set her sights on the music industry instead and we have to say, we’re rather pleased.
Twinnie is best known for her role as Porsche McQueen, a fiery female who is fiercely loyal with a solid moral compass. After less than a year in the role, Twinnie took the decision to leave the show to pursue her music career. As a result, Twinnie has just released her first solo single “Cool” — and it’s a stunning debut. Combining pop and country influences, Twinnie has written a song similar to early Taylor Swift and Shania Twain’s upbeat style.
Despite this being her first solo release, Twinnie has actually already had a long connection with music—she was previously part of the group who became The Shires and she also secured a songwriting deal with Universal Publishing.
“Cool” is the first track to be released from her unnamed debut EP which will be out later this year. Stream “Cool” now via Soundcloud and purchase it January 29th via TLM Records.
Chicago’s Tortoise has been around for nearly a quarter century, and what once was a novel approach to instrumentally focused genre hybridization has persevered into an indie cornerstone with a disinclination to rest on laurels. Illuminating a desire for growth, the band’s latest album sequences guest voices and an unforeseeable pop cover amidst their distinctive blend of jazz, rock, electronic, and experimental elements. The Catastrophist is out January 22 on vinyl, compact disc and digital via Thrill Jockey.
Tortoise’s initial two bassist-three percussionist lineup consisted of Doug McCombs, Bundy K. Brown, John Herndon, John McEntire, and Dan Bitney; they emerged in 1992 with a pair of 7-inches, one for Jesus Lizard bassist David Wm. Sims’ short-lived Torsion imprint and the other for Bettina Richards’ still-thriving Thrill Jockey label, initiating a long and fruitful association solidified through ‘94’s self-titled debut LP and continuing to the present.
For many, Tortoise’s arrival presented an attractive escape route from grunge’s diminishing returns. Brandishing heightened musicianship while being decidedly non-rockist in embracing dub, electronica, and remix culture (the latter inspiring ’95’s Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters), their eschewal of vocals offered refreshment in a period saturated in angst.
Tortoise’s most well-known/highly regarded releases were spawned from these beginnings, ‘96’s Millions Now Living Will Never Die (which saw David Pajo replacing Brown) and ‘98’s TNT (guitarist Jeff Parker joins) capped by 2001’s Standards (and Pajo’s exit). Subsequently, their pace slowed, producing It’s All Around You in ’04 and Beacons of Ancestorship in ’09; it’s nice to discover that even after a gap of seven years The Catastrophist avoids the creative hiccups and gullies frequent on records by veteran bands.
Boy From Rush’s ‘Power Windows’ Album Cover Owns a Record Store Now: The boy from Rush‘s Power Windows is all grown up, and he’s 
