VIA PRESS RELEASE | Frank Capra’s film It’s a Wonderful Life isn’t just the most beloved holiday film of all time. It’s also arguably the most quintessentially American movie ever made. Its populist message, everyman hero, patriotism, and sentimentality have proven a potent blend for multiple generations. So many scenes from this film are embroidered in our country’s collective consciousness; and much of the stitching holding those scenes together was supplied by Dimitri Tiomkin’s indelible score.

But what you hear in the film is only a portion of what Tiomkin wrote. Director Capra cut several cues (e.g “Death Telegram”), letting those scenes play without music and rearranged where certain cues appeared; he removed sections of cues, and even tracked in music written for other films. But, working with Tiomkin’s original acetates, soundtrack collectors were able to piece together Tiomkin’s score as originally written for release on CD about a decade ago.

Seldom has a movie swung so wildly from romance to reflection, brooding darkness to playful whimsy…that’s why we love it so much. Now, lovers of It’s a Wonderful Life could finally hear how Tiomkin’s original score artfully emphasized and commented on the movie’s high emotional peaks and deep valleys. Indeed, there really remains only one last step to cement Tiomkin’s legacy and, for that matter, Capra’s too. For the score to It’s a Wonderful Life has never been released on LP in any form, not in its full form or even in Capra’s truncated version.

Real Gone Music is very, very proud to present It’s a Wonderful Life on vinyl for very first time, in its complete, restored form with a two-page insert including photos, credits, and the promo poster image of Jimmy Stewart exuberantly hoisting Donna Reed. Pressed in burgundy “Zuzu’s Petals” vinyl limited to 1,500 copies.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | With the announcement of an expansive and revelatory new box set, Andrew Bird celebrates 20 years of the album that cemented his enigmatic style into the indie music canon, shaping the sounds of an era and inspiring decades of imitation: The Mysterious Production of Eggs.

Arriving physically and digitally on February 27th, on his own Wegawam Music Co. (via Secretly Distribution), the forthcoming collection features the original release of the record alongside two LPs of previously unheard material, including a one-to-one playthrough of demos, live takes, and alternate versions of each of the album’s songs, and a third LP of both unearthed rarities and a selection of highlights that have been rearranged and performed live alongside the orchestra of Nu Deco Ensemble.

With all-new artwork created by original cover artist and longtime collaborator, Jay Ryan, the limited edition 3LP vinyl set also includes a 54-page book of unseen photographs and special surprises, as well as a reflective essay written by Andrew Bird, and an exclusive piece from Anders Lindall, examining the unexpected and fascinating five years that it took Bird and his collaborators to finally get this album right.

As Andrew Bird explains in the box set’s accompanying story, the lessons learned from creating The Mysterious Production of Eggs were, “(1) Failure can be part of the process. (2) Don’t automatically do whatever worked the last time or follow through with the plan just because it’s ‘the plan’. Travel light and be adaptable.”

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Celebrating Gerry Beckley, born on this date in 1952. —Ed.

America gets a bum rap. I’m not talking, mind you, about the United States of America, which gets all the bad press it deserves. No, I’m talking about seventies soft-rock superstars America, the folkie trio who gave us “A Horse with No Name,” which Randy Newman famously dismissed as being “about a kid who thinks he’s taken acid.”

Personally, what has always pissed me off about the song is the band’s claim that the horse has no name. That’s balderdash. Of course the horse has a name. It may not be Trigger or Mr. Ed or Black Beauty, but it’s something. Vocalist Dewey Bunnell was probably just too lazy to ask the horse its name. “I’m Conway,” the horse would have replied. Or, “I’m Luther, good to meet ya.” Of course the horse could have offered Dewey his name. But a horse has its dignity.

But I have not come to pile on. If it’s easy to mock the gentle folk rock strains of Bunnell, Gerry Buckley, and Dan Peek, it’s just as easy to like them. You just have to let go. You know, take a walk on the mild side. The truth is I liked—and still like—America more than any of their soft rock contemporaries, even the ones with “artistic credibility.” Which is my way of saying I’ll take them over Crosby, Stills & Nash any day.

And I’m here today to urge you to run to the nearest record store to pick up a copy of the band’s 1975 compilation, History: America’s Greatest Hits. The LP has 12 songs, only 2 of which (“Muskrat Love,” “Woman Tonight) suck. And that’s a bargain at any price.

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Bob Bert is a musician, photographer, and zine publisher known for his drumming in influential bands such as Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Bewitched, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Jon Spencer and the Hitmakers, and Lydia Lunch Retrovirus.

Bob, also an artist and spent many years working for Andy Warhol, producing silk screens until his death. He has been a passionate member of New York’s art and music scene since the early ’70s.

Bob has seen everyone, been everywhere, and played with a huge percentage of influential East Coast bands and will be releasing his first solo album shortly. His first live performance in this latest iteration premiered at Salon Lulu back in 2024. Keeping it all alive in NYC!

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.

I haven’t been to a dry cleaner in years, for the simple reason that I don’t see the need to dry clean my Pablo Cruise t-shirt, or my Brian Jonestown Massacre t-shirt, or my Altamont Was Groovy t-shirt, and I could go on because all I own are t-shirts, unless you count a Grateful Dead hoodie that garners me all kinds of compliments but I’ll be forever ambivalent about because it has those awful dancing bears on it.

It was a gift. I hate those goddamn dancing bears.

But I’m a big fan of dry cleaning, or rather Dry Cleaning, the South London quartet that has made a name for themselves by combining angular, guitar-driven post-punk with the stream-of-consciousness spoken word musings of sometimes university lecturer Florence Shaw. When it comes to Dry Cleaning’s music think The Fall, Gang of Four, Wire, Magazine, Joy Division, PiL, and I could go on.

Shaw is the draw; she makes Dry Cleaning one of a kind for the simple reason you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth. Early on she relied on snatching words and phrases from found texts, but as time went on she began to use her own words, riffing on this, that, and everything really. Who else would toss the line “I’ve been thinking of eating that hot dog for hours” into the middle of a song? Shaw has this wonderful (and deliciously discombobulating) ability to lure you into the realms of the mundane before dropping an atomic bomb on you, of abruptly switching gears from seeming serenity to anger or from the quotidian to the absurd. Following her progress through a song is always a fascinating experience.

Dry Cleaning are Shaw on vocals, Tom Dowse on guitar, keyboards, and tape loops, Lewis Maynard on bass, and Nick Buxton on drums, percussion, programming, keyboards, and saxophone. Dry Cleaning have released two full lengths (2021’s New Long Leg and 2022’s Stumpwork) and a trio of EPs since they coaxed Shaw into joining the fold, but my favorite is their debut EP, 2018’s “Sweet Princess.” Why? Because it’s Dry Cleaning at their rawest and most primal. They’ve gradually sweetened things up and gotten slicker, accentuating the groove and using drum machines, while Shaw has done a bit of actual singing.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | On 3 October 2025 [integral] releases new editions of the first four David Sylvian albums: Brilliant Trees, pressed on corona olive opaque black vinyl with alternative images personally selected by David himself; Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities, pressed on corona gold opaque red colour vinyl; Gone to Earth, pressed on corona white brown opaque black vinyl; and Secrets of the Beehive, pressed on corona yellow opaque black vinyl. All four editions use the most recent remastered audio, with artwork overseen by Chris Bigg and David himself.

Brilliant Trees is the debut solo studio album by the English musician David Sylvian, released on 25 June 1984. The album peaked at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. It contains Sylvian’s biggest solo hit, “Red Guitar,” which reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1994, ten years after its release, the album was certified Gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. This version has alternative images personally selected by David himself, is pressed on corona olive opaque black vinyl and uses the most recent remastered audio.

Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities is the second solo studio album by David Sylvian. Alchemy is an intermediary album, released between his first solo album Brilliant Trees and his next solo album Gone to Earth, and it is made up of various separate projects. Re-presses were released with an earlier b/w photograph of Sylvian instead of the original artwork. This version is pressed on corona gold opaque red colour vinyl and uses the most recent remastered audio.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “Celebrated by fans but dismissed by critics, HIStory was Michael Jackson’s answer to a world waiting, watching, and demanding more from him. Beck cuts through the frenzy to reveal the careful orchestration required to balance artistic ambition, media scrutiny, business pressures and the hopes of fans. “You’ve Got Michael” deepens our understanding of Jackson’s legacy—and belongs on every fan’s shelf.” —Pez Jax, MJVibe.com

In 1991, Dan Beck became Michael Jackson’s main marketing contact at Epic Records. For five rollercoaster years, he was immersed in a world of unequalled stardom, dealing with the outsized ambition, whims, and idiosyncrasies of the world’s most famous entertainer. It was a pivotal point in Jackson’s career. His last album had failed to repeat the record-shattering success of Thriller. Rumors about his personal life and his eccentricities had made him the subject of gossip and accusations. Tabloids had begun calling him “Wacko Jacko.”

“You’ve Got Michael” tells the story of the high-stakes battle to save Jackson’s career and market his 1995 greatest hits album, as told by the record executive closest to him. Rather than rehash a controversial career, it details the inner workings of the music business at its mega-platinum height. Between the frequent 2:00 a.m. phone calls, pleas to get Michael to complete the new songs for the HIStory greatest hits package, and the handling of unpredictable developments, “You’ve Got Michael” is a gripping drama about working with a supreme talent through the most difficult time in his career.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Sigur Rós announce the release of a special 20th anniversary edition of their acclaimed album Takk… via Krunk.

A boxset of 5×10” vinyl, limited to 3,000 copies, is now available to order exclusively from sigurros.com, while 3×12” vinyl and 1xCD formats will be in stores on September 26th along with accompanying digital version to stream and download. A Takk… art print is also available as an indie exclusive with the 3×12” vinyl in selected stores and through sigurros.com. All formats are remastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. Pre-order/pre-save Takk… HERE.

Five rare tracks from the vinyl and digital editions of the Takk… reissue are available to stream and download from today. The b-sides and extras feature the original b-sides from the 2006 “Sæglópur” EP release plus two previously unreleased tracks, “Melrakki” and “Elfur,” originally written and recorded in the lead up to the recording of Takk… and now available officially for the first time. Additionally, a newly created Dolby Atmos spatial mix of the album will be available digitally on the album’s actual anniversary of September 12th.

Few bands cut through the noise and distractions of the world to bring you a pure elemental truth or feeling like Sigur Rós. Two years on from the release of Átta, their most intimate and emotionally direct record to date, and in the midst of a global orchestral world tour, they are looking back two decades to their major label debut and a commercial breakthrough for a band that has never sought the mainstream—the album was a platinum seller in the UK and shifted over 200,000 copies in its first year of release in the US.

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Celebrating Arvo Pärt on his 90th birthday. —Ed.

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is considered to be one of the greats in the broad spectrum of 20th-century classical music, and he’s further distinguished as a trailblazer of “holy minimalism.” Befitting a composer of his stature, the discography of Pärt’s recorded works is vast, but from inside that number there resides a smaller group of releases holding particular import. Silentium joins the list of essential Pärt recordings. Offering three selections on side one and a long and unique version of the title piece on the flip, the release is available on LP (in black or clear vinyl editions), CD, and digital. A 35”x35” silkscreen poster is also available.

Arvo Pärt came to prominence in his home country in the 1960s with a handful of recordings spanning the decade, but these are formative works that precede a long period of woodshedding after which Pärt reemerged with his tintinnabuli style of composing, a method where he utilizes two distinct voices (i.e. instruments), a tintinnabular voice restricted to the notes of the tonic triad and a melodic voice that can roam around freely.

Für Alina, first performed in 1976, introduced Pärt’s tintinnabuli style. It was eventually documented on one of numerous recordings made for the ECM label, a group of releases that comprise a significant chunk of his essential discography. The first recording of Pärt’s compositions released by ECM was Tabula Rasa in 1984, the title piece dating from 1977 scored for two solo violins, prepared piano, and string chamber orchestra (consisting of two violins, viola, cello, and contrabass).

The performance and recordings of Tabula Rasa were major successes integral to Pärt’s breakthrough as a composer and specifically as one of the three major pioneers of holy (or mystical) minimalism, alongside composers Henryk Górecki (of Poland) and John Tavener (of England). Holy minimalism is a sacred music of uncommonly deep feeling that’s strikingly devoid of concerns with passing fashions.

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MOSTON, MA | Maren Morris’ “Dreamsicle” tour is an ode to turning the page. It’s this new chapter that she brought to her performance at Leader Bank Pavilion, a popular sea-side outdoor venue outside of Boston.

The show opened with 21-year-old pop singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jade LeMac. Lemac is a rapidly rising star who has received praise from Rolling Stone as well as a GLAAD Award nomination for Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist. She has built a devout fanbase by being true to herself as a Queer Vietnamese Canadian. With “It’s Always At Night,” her highly anticipated EP set for release on November 7, she positions herself as an exciting pop-artist to watch.

The stage setup for Maren Morris was both intimate and impressive; a carefully crafted combination of modern production and nostalgic design, with dynamic lighting. Her performance of many “Dreamsicle” tracks were a journey through every emotion, and her own self-discovery resonates throughout. This album and the accompanying tour is a testament to Morris’ artistic and personal growth. Along with her skilled vocals, her openness in discussing many songs offered fans an intimate experience.

Morris lets her fans in. She’s warm, but no-nonsense, vulnerably embracing where she’s at and where she’s been—and the beautiful, messy process of healing and rebuilding after divorce, dating and exploring her bisexual identity, all while balancing career and parenthood.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | In 1959, trailblazing pianist Bill Evans assembled one of the greatest trios in jazz history, thanks to the intuitive artistry of bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. Over the next year and a half, they would establish a groundbreaking and highly influential improvisational style that challenged the status quo and shifted the genre’s landscape. While their time together was heartbreakingly brief, they left behind two live albums and two seminal studio albums that continue to inspire to this day.

Now, Craft Recordings honors this inimitable trio through Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings—a brand new collection that, for the very first time, collects the complete recording studio output by Evans’ “Classic Trio.” Anchoring this 5-LP, 180-gram vinyl collection (also available in a 3-CD set and standard/hi-res digital) are the trio’s two acclaimed original studio albums, Portrait in Jazz (1960) and Explorations (1961), both of which benefit from meticulous audio restoration by Plangent Processes. Three additional LPs feature 26 breathtaking alternate takes and outtakes from these famed sessions—17 of which have never been released—offering rare insight into the trio’s innovative creative process.

The collection, which arrives on November 21st, and is available to pre-order/pre-save today, was produced by Nick Phillips and mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, with lacquers cut for the vinyl edition by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. The beautifully packaged vinyl edition comes with rare photos and a fold-out poster insert, featuring new original art on one side, while an introduction by The Doors’ John Densmore (who recalls sneaking into Shelly’s Manne-Hole as a teenager to catch the trio’s brilliance) and new liner notes by jazz writer Eugene Holley Jr. (DownBeat, Hot House Jazz Guide, SFJAZZ) grace the other side.

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