VIA PRESS RELEASE | Acclaimed filmmaker Tom Ropelewski unveils Jill Sobule: She’s Gonna Sing! You’re Gonna Listen! (working title), an intimate musical documentary that offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the late Jill Sobule, the “singer-songwriter’s singer-songwriter,” human rights activist, LGBTQ folk/pop icon, and groundbreaking artist best known for hits “I Kissed A Girl” and “Supermodel.”

What began as a collaboration to spotlight her next artistic era, Ropelewski and Sobule spent the last several years filming. From New York rehearsals for her one-woman-with-a-band autobiographical show, F*CK 7th GRADE, to the Nashville recording of its cast album, to candid tour footage across the US, they captured the wit, tenderness, political bite, and musical fearlessness that made Sobule, in the words of The New York Times, “among the stellar New York singer-songwriters of the last decade.”

While actively involved in the production, Sobule died unexpectedly in May 2025. The film has now become a vivid, joyful, and definitive portrait, a film Ropelewski says is “not a memorial, but a vital and intimate portrait of a once-in-a-generation artist whose voice only grows larger.”

The documentary also features friends and music collaborators, including Richard Barone (The Bongos), Nini Camps (Antigone Rising), comedian/actor Margaret Cho, John Doe (X), Kristin Ellis-Henderson (Antigone Rising), jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Matt Groening (Creator of The Simpsons), Kay Hanley (Letters To Cleo), Michelle Lewis (singer/songwriter/composer, SONA co-founder), author David Hajdu, comedian/ host Stephanie Miller, and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Mel, the second East River Pipe album released by Merge Records, will be reissued on vinyl on January 16, 2026, as the label’s first entry in the Secretly Society Record Club.

Going beyond bringing a long out-of-print classic back to wax, the reissue features new liner notes by Barbara Powers and represents the first time Mel has been available in full on any physical format, as “Spotlight,” exclusive to Merge’s 1996 LP and CD, is joined here by “The Way They Murdered Me” and “Miracleland,” which were exclusive to the Shinkansen CD issued outside of North America. Two versions of Mel—a white vinyl edition exclusive to the Secretly Society, and a black vinyl pressing exclusive to Merge Records—are now available for pre-order.

Mel’s inclusion in the Secretly Society series was championed by Secretly Group co-founder Ben Swanson, who had this to say about the album: “In 1996, we were just about ready to put our first two records on Secretly Canadian—Songs: Ohia’s One Pronunciation of Glory and June Panic’s Glory Hole—North Dakota’s answer to the ’90s 4-track revolution. I was only a few weeks into starting my first radio show at WIUS (now WIUX) in the old house (RIP) on IU’s campus. Dozens of CDs that were coming thru the mail slot every day by all my favorite labels—Ajax, Drag City and, of course, Merge—when East River Pipe’s Mel arrived. It was a revelation.

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Axis: Bold as Love, the second album from the Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell), released in December 1967, is the middle child of the trilogy of albums that introduced guitarist Jimi Hendrix to the world.

While the explosion of the group’s debut album, Are Your Experienced?, released in May of 1967, signaled the birth of a guitar star and the double album Electric Ladyland, released in October of 1968, was the sprawling finale of the height of Hendrix in the studio in the ’60s, Axis: Bold as Love, despite the many great songs and tracks it contains, often receives much less attention than the other two albums. Track Records issued all of the albums from the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the UK and Reprise in the US.

The album was recorded quickly at Olympic Studios in London, following the extraordinary success of Are You Experienced?, and was released just seven months after that album. Hendrix often complained that the album was rushed, but a listen to it reveals a musician burning with inspiration as a songwriter, guitarist, and studio innovator.

The album features some of Hendrix’s most beloved songs, including “Little Wing,” which Hendrix has said was either about a girl in Greenwich Village he knew or was inspired by his time performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in May 1967. The iconic song was a centerpiece track on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, the one and only album from Derek and the Dominos, released in 1970. Another classic, “Spanish Castles,” was inspired by a ballroom of that name just outside Hendrix’s native Seattle.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young & Pavement, the original motion picture soundtrack from the 2023 SXSW-winning documentary film, has been confirmed for release via digital outlets, Special Edition CD, and black and colored vinyl editions for Friday January 30, 2026 on Independent Project Records.

Proudly resistant to genres and conventions, the Louder Than You Think soundtrack tells the story of Gary Young, a true original in life and behind the drum kit, who, when he was approaching the ripe old age of 40, joined twenty-somethings Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg (Spiral Stairs) to become the original drummer, as well as producer, for soon-to-be indie royalty Pavement.

More than just a soundtrack, the release features rare and never-before-heard tracks from the underappreciated Stockton music scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s, as seen through the lens of the LSD and alcohol-fueled hippie who helped define the sound of all things lo-fi, indie rock, and slacker in between headstands, including bands like Fall of Christianity (the Stockton rebels that struck a chord with a teenage Spiral Stairs), CRLLL, The Authorities, Gary Young’s Hospital, and Hot Spit Dancers. The album also includes tracks scored for the film from Edward W. Dahl (Jodorowsky’s Dune) and Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Cate Le Bon).

“Louder Than You Think is the story of original Pavement drummer Gary Young,” said Pavement’s Scott Kannberg. “This soundtrack captures the spirit and warped vision that could only come from Gary and the ‘underbelly of California,’ Stockton!”

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Tangerine Records, the long-defunct label established by Ray Charles shortly after his departure from Atlantic Records, has reemerged with a few vinyl reissues of Charles’ albums from the 1960s and ’70s. They are Come Live with Me, Love Country Style, Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul, and No One Does It Like…Ray Charles, all pressed on, you guessed it, tangerine colored vinyl. All four are available now. We give them proper consideration below.

It feels right to tackle Tangerine Records’ recent reissues in reverse order of release. No One Does It Like… Ray Charles, which hit stores on November 21, rounds up mid-’60s non-album singles and stray tracks into an enjoyably cohesive whole and with considerable depth through Charles’ natural stylistic range. There’s a wide variety across the dozen tracks, from large band swingers to the smaller group “Worried Life Blues” to selections that lean toward Latin and country.

The proceedings hang together in part due to the relatively tight time frame, the overall sharpness of the bands, and the sass of the Raelettes, plus Charles in strong voice, hitting the keys with panache. There are a few lesser tracks, such as the Middle of the Road-ish closer “My Heart Cries for You,” but there is a preponderance of soul throughout, and the set rolls like it was cut as an actual album.

Love Country Style was released on October 24 and moves us ahead to 1970. As per the title, Charles undertakes a return engagement with the country genre, which proved an extremely fruitful endeavor both commercially and artistically through his two iconic Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music volumes.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Mercury Studios proudly announces Purpose: Celebrating 30 Years of the Classic Albums Seal I and Seal II, a celebratory concert film from four-time Grammy Award-winning British soul icon Seal out February 13.

Shot live at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas in 2024, this performance marks three decades since the release of Seal’s groundbreaking debut album, Seal, and its acclaimed follow-up, Seal II. Purpose: Celebrating 30 Years of the Classic Albums Seal I and Seal II will be available in multiple formats, including a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack, along with a Blu-ray+CD combo and digital audio and video.

The 10-track performance boasts classic chart-topping anthems such as “Crazy,” “Future Love Paradise,” “Killer,” and “Kiss From a Rose,” as well as a few surprises. The concert also features Seal’s longtime producer, Grammy Award-winning producer, musician, and songwriter Trevor Horn (Yes, LeAnn Rimes, Belle and Sebastian), who joins his six-piece band as bassist and music director.

“He is this mentor that I’ve spent the last 34 years looking up to. He knows me as an artist better than anyone else,” Seal said. “Having him on tour caused me to bring a level of professionalism and discipline that I hadn’t had before.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Interscope-Capitol Records today unveils the next installment in its acclaimed Definitive Sound Series (DSS), a premium audiophile limited edition of Beck’s Morning Phase, available December 12.

Widely regarded as one of Beck’s most acclaimed works, Morning Phase earned praise for its warm harmonies, expansive arrangements and cinematic scope. Produced by Beck, the album won three Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and Best Rock Album.

Mastered by Levi Seitz at Black Belt Mastering from the original 96kHz/24-bit vinyl file created by the legendary Bob Ludwig, the AAA 180-gram high-definition vinyl LP ($99.98) was pressed at Record Technology, Inc., using the state-of-the-art One Step process, eliminating multiple stamper stages to delivering Beck’s sweeping compositions and layered production with heightened clarity and unmatched depth and clarity.

This edition marks the first DSS title presented in a heavyweight Tip On single-pocket gatefold jacket with the original photo insert, housed inside a uniquely designed slipcase. Limited to 3,000 hand-numbered copies, each DSS edition includes a certificate of authenticity detailing the mastering, plating, and pressing chain.

“The Definitive Sound Series represents the pinnacle of vinyl craftsmanship,” says Xavier Ramos, EVP D2C and eCommerce Strategy at Interscope/Capitol. “We’re proud to invest in these collectible pieces that reflect our respect for these iconic artists, their groundbreaking music, and the fans whose passion continues to keep these albums as relevant today as when they were first released.”

Celebrating Dennis Dunaway on his 79th birthday. —Ed.

Ten bonus points and a dead baby if you can tell me which album John Lydon called his favorite of all time. All time! That means he likes it more than KC and the Sunshine Band’s The Sound of Sunshine or the Eagles’ Hotel California even! Unimaginable! Well, if the dead babies reference didn’t tip you off, which it certainly should have, the former Johnny Rotten’s favorite rock album in the whole wide world, including the Sammy Johns record with “Chevy Van” on it, is Alice Cooper’s Killer.

1971’s Killer followed hard on the heels of that same year’s breakthrough LP for the band, Love It to Death. Which I prefer to Killer, but who cares? I’m not John Lydon. Anyway, Killer cemented the band’s reputation for writing songs of macabre weirdness, which they milked for all they were worth with a live show that included decapitations, gallows, giant snakes, the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, 7,000 showgirls wearing glitter-encrusted Nazi jackboots and porcupine-spike bras, a full-scale reenactment of the crash of the Hindenburg, and an elderly Dr. Josef Mengele playing cowbell.

Okay, so I exaggerate. But the band’s gory and fantabulous live show delighted teens while deeply disturbing parents, who were convinced that Cooper’s magically morbid extravaganzas were going to instantaneously transform their kiddies into wild-eyed axe murderers. Which made the kids love it even more!

I’ve said before that the perfect LP would have combined the first three tracks of Love It to Death—in which guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce play like men possessed by the Devil—and the first two tracks and “Dead Babies” from Killer. But that’s not the way it went down, and I have to (resentfully) live with it. I suspect they had slave-like contractual obligations with their record label that obligated them to put out two albums in 1971, when they’d have been much better served by only releasing one. That was how things were often done back in the day, when record companies behaved much in the same way as antebellum southern plantation owners.

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Based in Richmond, VA, The Melody Chamber features the songwriting talents of Wallace Dietz and Dan-O Deckelman, with both playing guitars and Deckelman contributing synth to an equation that’s boldly, and some might say brazenly, ’80s post-punk/ new wave/ college rock in orientation. For their debut album, Randy Mendicino plays the bass and Blee Child handles the drums.

It’s an admirable if not mind-blowing endeavor, available now on vinyl in the USA through Happy Happy Birthday To Me. For overseas buyers, the vinyl and CD are available through the To Good To Be True label.

There’s a considerable number of bands to which The Melody Chamber have been compared, including The Psychedelic Furs, R.E.M., The Church, The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, and even Wire Train. Indeed, that’s quite a range of like-minded reference points, but the band manages to avoid an England to Athens to Australia and back to England stylistic schizophrenia, even if The Melody Chamber playfully embrace the notion by describing their album as soundtracking an imaginary John Hughes film.

The main difference is that many of the bands that landed a spot in one of Hughes’ teen-focused flicks suffered from the era’s tendency for overproduction. The Melody Chamber has a consistently sharper (and occasionally tougher) sound, even when drifting into synth-driven territory. This is still a fairly subtle point of difference, and the influence that gradually comes to dominate is The Psychedelic Furs, largely in the vocal department.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Lost Highway Records will mark the 25th anniversary of the iconic O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack by releasing a vinyl gatefold edition on February 20, 2026. The anniversary celebration will continue over the course of the year with a series of special events and activations. Pre-order O Brother, Where Art Thou? HERE.

To celebrate this milestone anniversary and new vinyl pressing, T Bone Burnett and Lost Highway will present an evening in celebration of O Brother, Where Art Thou? on the Grand Ole Opry on February 28th. As part of the Opry’s continuing 100th anniversary celebration, this special Saturday night show will feature artists from the original soundtrack and more. Certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA in 2007, the bulk of the soundtrack’s sales to date have been in CD format.

Now, the 25th anniversary edition gives vinyl collectors three new variations to choose from: Standard Black, Sunshine Gold, which will be available exclusively at the Lost Highway Records store, and Dapper Dan Red, available exclusively at independent record stores. The vinyl was pressed at David Rawlings and Gary Salstrom’s Paramount Pressing & Plating in Denver, known for its superior vinyl.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? was produced by T Bone Burnett for the 2000 Coen Brothers’ film of the same name, which was set in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression and starred George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson as three escaped convicts. The soundtrack climbed to the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 after winning multiple GRAMMY® Awards, including Album of the Year.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | After keyboardist/composer Bayeté a.k.a. Todd Cochran established his musical presence on the San Francisco scene playing in Bobby Hutcherson’s band, and before becoming a key member of the innovative band Automatic Man, which he co-founded with Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, he recorded a couple of solo albums for the Prestige label that feature some of the most far-out, futuristic music the legendary jazz imprint ever released.

The first, Worlds Around the Sun, created quite a critical stir and debuted his composition “Free Angela,” which was later recorded again by Santana and sampled widely by artists like Kendrick Lamar, De La Soul, and Jay Electronica. But it was this album, 1973’s Seeking Other Beauty, that represented the full flowering of his vision. As Bayeté says in the notes by Pat Thomas that accompany our Real Gone reissue, “While I’ve held space for the blues aesthetic and jazz in everything I’ve done, I was leaving one world and entering another, unmooring the ship and heading into a sea of unknowns, so to speak.”

That ship ended up at a dazzling destination reached by few; early ‘70s electric Miles is a clear point on the compass, but so are Parliament-Funkadelic and Lonnie Liston Smith, if he were playing a fuzzed-out clavinet instead of a Fender Rhodes. Bayeté went on to collaborate with everybody from Peter Gabriel to Herbie Hancock to Stanley Clarke, but Seeking Other Beauty delivers the full measure of the man.

This is a first-ever reissue, featuring an all-analog pressing in either black vinyl or “plasma” vinyl, accompanied by an added insert. In its attitude, emotion, and performance, this recording captures an urgency that people are feeling again today. If you’re a fan of music that features a mosaic of influences—spiritual jazz with a fluid futuristic slant, akin to some of the Black Jazz label titles we reissued on Real Gone—this record is for you.