Remembering Bert Jansch, born on this date in 1943. —Ed.

There might be no better time than the present to be a record collecting fan of Bert Jansch. Vinyl reissues from all stages of the Brit-folk guitar linchpin’s career have been flowing into the racks for a while now, and we’re currently experiencing a crescendo of material from the late singer-songwriter.

The 1960s was flush with fingerpickers, and Bert Jansch was amongst the very best. Adding to his appeal, the Scottish troubadour was also a capable vocalist, solid songwriter, and a deft collaborator, first teaming with fellow guitarist John Renbourn; in short order the duo co-founded the progressive folk combo Pentangle.

Jansch’s eponymous debut and its follow-up It Don’t Bother Me, both issued in 1965, have endured as classics, and for those wishing to become conversant with the man’s work, they are the place to begin; last year Superior Viaduct issued the LPs singly, and both will be part of Earth Recordings’ upcoming box set of Jansch’s output for the Transatlantic label.

This period remains the most lauded stretch in the guitarist’s oeuvre, in part due to its consistency and sharpness of focus. 1966 brought third album Jack Orion, which both extends from and contrasts with its predecessor, the opening strains of banjo in “The Waggoner’s Lad” picking up where It Don’t Bother Me’s finale “900 Miles” left off. The instrumental switch intertwines productively with Renbourn’s guitar, as his role, having commenced on the prior disc’s “Lucky Thirteen,” is deepened across four Jack Orion cuts to positive effect.

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There’s something quietly magnetic about Lōwli’s debut album Window in the Woods. The project of Irish composer and songwriter Róisín Lowry, Lōwli has been steadily carving a name for herself in the Irish neo-classical scene over the past few years, and this full-length release feels like the moment where it all comes into focus.

Recorded in Treehouse Studios, Co. Wicklow, Window in the Woods is a beautifully brooding collection that blurs the lines between modern classical composition and dark, cinematic pop. It’s the kind of album that creeps up on you, full of hushed intensity and emotional precision.

At its core lies a vintage 1920s Forster upright piano, whose soft imperfections lend a deeply human quality to the record. Around that, Lōwli layers sweeping strings, atmospheric percussion and ambient textures, creating something that feels both fragile and expansive. Her voice—rich, controlled, and hauntingly pure—floats above it all, particularly on standout tracks “Undone” and “Ground Above You,” where she balances vulnerability with quiet strength.

The instrumental moments are just as affecting. Pieces like “Lament” and “Islands Are Falling” strip things back to their emotional essence, evoking the restrained melancholy of Agnes Obel or Nils Frahm. It’s music that demands stillness, the kind of record you put on late at night, when the outside world finally fades away.

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Celebrating Adam Ant on his 71st birthday. —Ed.

Who’s better qualified to talk about New Wave legends Adam and the Ants than a real, live ant? Or better yet, anthropomorphic cartoon superhero Atom Ant? I recently caught up with everybody’s favorite atomic-powered New Frontier insect at a retirement anthill outside Phoenix, Arizona, and took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about the band that invented Antmusic.

Before we start, how’s Secret Squirrel?

Squirrelly. Very squirrelly. All of that International Sneaky Service stuff went to his head. I was always having to remind him it was only TV. I occasionally get coded letters from him with handwritten return addresses from places like Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But they’re all postmarked Erie, Pennsylvania.

So what do you think about Adam and the Ants’ striking visual image?

It’s a disgrace to Family Formicidae. Real ants don’t wear make-up, although we do have our fair share of Goth Kids. Don’t get me wrong; in one sense their look is a return to the campy outrages of Glam Rock, and I don’t know a single ant who doesn’t love him some Glam. Hell, even their patented two-drummer Burundi beat is a salute of sorts to Gary Glitter.

What was your response to the “Antpeople Phenom”?

I took it as a left-handed complement to our eusociality and this mythical notion that we share some kind of “hive mind.” Hell, if that were true we’d all like straightedge–if that ain’t a terrifying example of programmed hive behavior, I don’t know what is. But speaking for myself, I think Antpeople are good people. You could do worse than imitate us. Let’s face it: acting human certainly hasn’t gotten the human race very far. The shit you people do on a daily basis is appalling. Cooperation and peaceful crisis resolution just aren’t your thing. Remember the episode where arch-enemy Karate Ant and I faced off and ended up having a friendly chat? Donald Trump would have called him “Little Rocket Man” and escalated that little contretemps into WWIII.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Founded by Ray Charles in the 1960s, Tangerine Records is proud to celebrate the 17x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, and pianist’s singular legacy with the Tangerine Master Series, a new slate of reissues highlighting Charles’ best-known music alongside classic records long out of print, and ready for rediscovery. Each album has been restored and remastered under the direct supervision of The Ray Charles Foundation, painting a vivid new portrait of an artist and icon whose impact continues to expand and inspire.

The Tangerine Master Series now presents No One Does It Like…Ray Charles! collecting for the first time ever a number of mid-1960s singles, B-sides, and non-LP tracks never before gathered together on a single cohesive album. The instant classic collection captures Ray Charles at the height of his powers, offering a rare glimpse into a prolific and creatively explosive moment in his career. Tracks like “My Baby Don’t Dig Me,” “Without Love (There Is Nothing),” “Worried Life Blues,” and a top 10 rendition of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman’s classic “No One” showcase his unmatched range and soul.

An essential addition to the Ray Charles canon and a snapshot of an artist at the peak of his creative brilliance, No One Does It Like…Ray Charles! arrives everywhere on Friday, November 21. Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now.

“A discography can define legacy, it can define a tenure of greatness, but to appreciate the gifts of Ray Charles, one has to avoid taking such a wide-lens approach, which is a way of saying that each Ray Charles song is a universe,” writes award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib in an exclusive essay penned expressly for this new release. “No One Does It Like…Ray Charles! is an offering which makes that plain….All of the songs on this album existed, somewhere, before this, stretched out alongside the massive career of Ray Charles. But this is the first time they’ve been curated and organized in one single place.

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Celebrating Adam Horovitz on his 59th birthday. —Ed.

Well here it is: the album that changed everything–for the better! The fiery shot of hip hop fired across the bow of rock’n’roll that succeeded (spectacularly!) by swiping its most monstrous riffs from rock’n’roll itself, and its brash, crass, and hilarious attitude from punk.

As I remember it, 1988’s Licensed to Ill did the impossible by converting predominantly white hardcore punks and rockers to an almost exclusively black musical genre (hip hop) OVERNIGHT. I recall attending a party being thrown by a couple of Johnny Thunders wannabes at a roach-infested crash pad in Philly, and lo and behold all every sneering personality crisis in attendance wanted to do was jump joyously around to Licensed to Ill until the morning hours.

Do you think it’s easy to instantaneously win hearts and minds? To turn cynical hive-minded hardcore kids (just like the Beasties when they started out) into the kinds of responsible world citizens who immediately rushed out to buy Public Enemy’s black-consciousness-expanding It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back after a single playing of “No Sleep till Brooklyn”? Licensed to Ill was the boldest blow for race mixing this side of P-Funk. Or Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka even. Or Public Enemy for that matter. True, even the most cursory glance at Kid Rock should be enough to tell you this remarkable phenomenon had its downside (God Save Us From Vanilla Ice!) but STILL.

But Licensed to Ill was more than just a remarkable blow for instant integration. The Beastie Boys muscled their way to the front of the bus on the basis of sheer bravado and a snotty sense of New Yawk humor not heard since the Dictators released the great Go Girl Crazy! Mike D., MCA, and Ad-Rock were that crazy kid down the block who lived to get high, liked to egg cop cars, and had that insane stash of Hustler magazines. And who thought everything was funny; hell, he even laughed while he was PUKING.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings is teaming up with The Pharcyde to celebrate 30 years of the iconic rap group’s era-defining sophomore LP, Labcabincalifornia. The release will arrive on newly remastered 2-CD and digital formats on December 5th and is available for pre-order/pre-save today. This 30th-anniversary edition of the album features instrumentals, B-sides, remixes by the legendary J Dilla, and a brand-new remix by Glen Nicholls (whose work includes collaborations with The Prodigy, Nine Inch Nails, U2).

Originally released in 1995, Labcabincalifornia marked a creative evolution for The Pharcyde. Produced by the group alongside J Dilla, the album blended sharp lyricism with inventive, jazz-infused beats that helped shape the sound of modern hip-hop. Featuring timeless singles like “Drop,” “Runnin’,” and “She Said,” the record showcased the group’s lyrical maturity and experimental edge. The Spike Jonze–directed video for “Drop,” which sampled the Beastie Boys’ “The New Style,” became a defining visual moment of the decade and helped propel the track onto the Billboard Hot 100.

The Pharcyde formed in 1989 in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. Originally consisting of Fatlip, Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Imani, the band became one of the city’s hottest groups thanks to their innovative style during the gangsta rap era.

As critic Dean Van Nguyen wrote about their breakthrough debut, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, the quartet were a different sort of rap group than what was traditionally expected in the early 1990s. “With G-funk crumbling pavements in the Wild West, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde offered a breezier boom-bap alternative.

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Celebrating Johnny Marr on his 62nd birthday. —Ed.

I’m a Morrissey fan by temperament—of all the musicians who have ever lived, Manchester’s most famous miserabalist (he even beats Mark E. Smith!) comes closest to sharing my belief that hope is the lubricant that keeps the human meat grinder running—and because I consider him the funniest musician to ever kvetch into a microphone.

I can’t help but love a man who quipped, “What’s the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning? Wish I hadn’t.” And was quoted as saying, “I have found the best way to avoid ending your life as a bitter wreck is to start out as one.” The Mancunian misanthropist’s feckless take on life is utterly hilarious, and what I’ll never get over is there are people out there who don’t think he’s funny. No wonder Morrissey’s miserable; he’s a great comedian but nobody gets his jokes.

And the jokes just keep on coming on The Smiths’ third studio LP, 1986’s The Queen Is Dead. Morrissey possesses a savage wit; “Girlfriend in a Coma” is a black comedy for the ages. And on The Queen Is Dead Morrissey is in top form. He opens “Bigmouth Strikes Again” with the lines, “Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking/When I said I’d like to/Smash every tooth in your head/Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking/When I said by rights/You should be bludgeoned in your bed” and you can practically hear him cackling. And his take on dying a romantic death on “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (“And if a double-decker bus/Crashes into us/To die by your side/Is such a heavenly way to die/And if a ten-ton truck/Kills the both of us/To die by your side/Well, the pleasure—the privilege is mine”) never fails to crack me up.

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WORDS AND IMAGES: TODD JUDD IN HARRISBURG, PA | Hirie’s Phases Tour Phase III kicked off with an unforgettable performance at XL Live in Harrisburg, PA, delivering a night of sweet island reggae infused with love, positivity, and vulnerability. The show was brilliant on so many levels, blending upbeat rhythms with deeply personal lyrics that took the audience on a journey of resilience and growth—with a killer setlist that seamlessly wove together fan-favorite classics and fresh tracks from her latest album, Phases, Hirie and her extraordinary band created an energetic and emotional atmosphere that had the crowd singing, swaying, and smiling all night long.

The evening began with an electrifying set from Mr. Mota, a Colorado-based band that brought a unique fusion of reggae, rock, grunge, and blues. Their feel-good anthems, such as “Touch the Sky” and “Stuck in ‘82,” had the audience grooving from the start, while new tracks like “On My Mind” showcased their evolving sound. Frontman Max’s versatile voice and Rosen’s standout guitar work made their performance unforgettable.

Next up was Wilmington, DE’s own Signal Fire, whose laid-back, rootsy reggae vibe set the perfect tone for the night. With Sean’s soothing vocals, Kenneth’s impressive drumming, and Tristan’s mesmerizing saxophone solos, the band captivated the crowd and built anticipation for the main act.

When Hirie finally took the stage, the energy in the room was electric. She opened with “I’m High,” a track from her new album, setting the tone with smooth reggae rhythms and her effortlessly chill vocals. The crowd was immediately hooked, swaying and singing along as she transitioned into “Boom Fire” and “Elevation.” The connection between Hirie and her fans was palpable, with the audience belting out lyrics and dancing to every beat.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Gary Numan’s second studio album Telekon was released in 1980 and was his third successive #1 album in the UK. Gary refers to this album, along with its two predecessors, Tubeway Army’s Replicas and his debut solo album The Pleasure Principle, as the “machine” phase of his career. While it was hard to follow up the previous releases, Telekon proved to be hugely influential. Unlike its predecessors, Telekon had plenty of guitars, along with strings and lush synthesizer textures. Trent Reznor claimed to have listened to it every day during the making of Pretty Hate Machine.

We are reissuing this album in a few formats, and pre-orders for all are available now. On November 14th, we will release a limited-edition sustainable version of Telekon. On December 12th, we will release a Deluxe Expanded Edition double rainbow sparkle LP of Telekon with four unreleased tracks, one of which is a never-before-heard Gary Numan song from the album sessions titled “Like A B-Film.” This deluxe edition also contains a replica of the original 1980 Telekon 12-page tour booklet. On January 30th, we will release a standard edition double LP and CD of the expanded album.

We asked Gary to reflect on 45 years of Telekon and he told us that “Telekon has always held a rather warm place for me whenever I look back at the early years. I was very proud of it. I thought the production had moved up a gear for one thing. I was also proud of the fact that I’d not gone the commercial route and tried to repeat the formula and sound of “Cars” and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” I was still trying to move forward, find new sounds. It was a reasonably bold stance I think, to not follow a safer, more formulaic path, as I suddenly had a lot to lose after the success of the year before.”

Beggars Banquet has partnered with Good Neighbor Music, an environmentally conscious record manufacturing company, to create a very special, limited-edition version of Telekon on their patented PET (polyethylene terephthalate) alternative to traditionally pressed vinyl. The sustainability goals of Good Neighbor align with that of Beggars Group, and we are happy to utilize their patented eco conscious product for this forward-thinking album.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Oasis celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Wonderwall.” Three decades since its first release and with over 3 billion streams, “Wonderwall”’s significance, popularity, and legacy continues to grow amidst the unprecedented glow of the Live ‘25 Tour.

A song with massive importance to so many, the significance of “Wonderwall” is hard to overstate. Originally debuted by Noel Gallagher on UK television backstage at Glastonbury, it’s featured in countless lists of the greatest songs of all time and has soundtracked key moments in the lives of fans from all corners of the globe.

To mark the anniversary and announced today is a limited edition (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? 7” Singles Box Set—a replica of the highly collectible 1996 CD cigarette-style box. The Box Set includes four 7” singles, featuring the 2014 remastered versions of “Wonderwall,” “Some Might Say,” “Roll With It,” and “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” along with their original B-sides.

Released 12th December, it’s available for pre-order here. The box set follows the highly sought-after re-release of the Definitely Maybe 7” Singles Box Set last year, a limited-edition re-press of which is now available exclusively to pre-order via Amazon.

This landmark anniversary arrives shortly after the release of the (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, which featured a brand-new unplugged version of “Wonderwall.” The deluxe edition charted at number 2 on Official UK Albums Chart and was described by MOJO as “Indestructible,” with Record Collector adding “This was the moment Oasis truly became the band of the people,” and Uncut concurring that this is “Britpop’s landmark.”

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Celebrating Grace Slick on her 86th birthday. —Ed.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Here the most important date on my holy calendar has come and gone, and you didn’t buy me a single gift. I’m talking about the anniversary of Altamont, of course, the benighted free concert held on December 6, 1969 at the Altamont Speedway in northern California. Four people died, one poor fellow at the hands of the Hells Angels, who were hired to provide security. The Angels, anger fueled in part by the $500 in beer they received as payment for their services, also rendered Jefferson Airplane vocalist Marty Balin unconscious with a blow to the head, which is why the anniversary of Altamont is also known to strict religious observers such as myself as “Punch Marty Balin in the Mouth Day.”

Altamont is perhaps rock’s most significant day because it, along with the Manson Family killings, put paid to the Age of Aquarius. It was the end of the innocence, to quote that dick from the Eagles, the high water mark of peace, love, and understanding, and on that dark day the glorious lysergic wave of good vibes and universal brotherhood broke and receded forever, as Hunter S. Thompson so astutely notes in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

I write all of this because the Jefferson Airplane was Thee Official Band of the LSD era. “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” were as much countercultural signifiers as they were songs, as was “Crown of Creation,” as in “you are the.” But the whole scene went south, first with the numerous drug casualties of Haight-Ashbury, then with Charles Manson’s bloody murder spree and the disaster at Altamont, about which Grace Slick noted, “The vibes were bad. Something was very peculiar, not particularly bad, just real peculiar. It was that kind of hazy, abrasive and unsure day. I had expected the loving vibes of Woodstock but that wasn’t coming at me. This was a whole different thing.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Letters to Cleo’s debut album offers a classic indie rock rags-to-riches story we just don’t hear enough of anymore. The band was close to breaking up (vocalist Kay Hanley had already started another band on the side) when they released Aurora Gory Alice on a small, local (Boston) label called Cherrydisc Records in 1993.

A year later, after receiving extensive airplay in New England, Billboard finally reviewed the album and the next day the band played a much-celebrated show at South by Southwest. Major labels then came calling, and Warner Brothers imprint Giant Records signed Letters to Cleo, re-releasing the album in 1994. But fame and fortune STILL eluded the band until Giant was asked to compile a soundtrack for the TV Show Melrose Place and put “Here & Now” on it.

Success, however long-delayed, was swift; the song went Top Ten on the Modern Rock charts and the album likewise cracked the album charts. That success was also richly deserved; Aurora Gory Alice presents smart, melodic indie pop graced with Hanley’s soaring vocals. We’ve remastered this ‘90s classic for vinyl, and, with the band’s blessing, are bringing it to retail on LP for the first time with a sea blue pressing. Recommended!

Nonstop touring afforded Letters to Cleo an opportunity to develop a harder-edged, more diverse sound, heard to excellent effect on 1995’s Wholesale Meats and Fish. The single, the propulsive “Awake,” is good…but the album highlight is definitely “Little Rosa,” a masterpiece of ‘60s-influenced jangle pop. Once again, Real Gone had the album remastered for its first widespread vinyl retail release. Highlighter yellow pressing, released with the band’s blessing.