Monday, December 15, 2008

New Vinyl Releases










12/16/09 RELEASE DATE


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Beck - Odelay (10th Anniversary) [4 LP] (VERY LIMITED - 180 Gram Vinyl in quad-gatefold numbered jacket with 12-page booklet)


Cheap Trick - At Budokan [LP] (180 Gram Vinyl)
Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley [LP]
Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux [2 LP] (Colored Vinyl plus Poster)
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box [2 LP]
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien [LP]
Motley Crue - Journals of the Damned [6 LP Box plus Lithograph] (180 Gram Vinyl cut from Original Analog Masters)
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (Red Colored Vinyl)(Limited Edition)
Social Distortion - Social Distortion [LP]
Weather Report - Heavy Weather [LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]
Gorilla Zoe - Lost [12'']
Jamie Foxx - Just Like Me (feat. T.I.) [12'']
Martin Buttrich & Jona - Stoned Autopilot (Carl Craig Mix) b/w Oblique (Previously Unreleased) [12'']
Crow Tongue/Language of - Light -Split [7''] (Marbled Colored Vinyl)
Raconteurs - Old Enough b/w Top Yourself (Bluegrass Version) (7'' Vinyl)


12/23/09 RELEASE DATE

Brother's Keeper - Continuum [LP]
Brother's Keeper / Disembodied - Oxymoron [LP]
Chrome - Blood On The Moon [LP]
Common - Universal Mind Control [2 LP]
Endeavor - Constructive... [LP]
First Blood - Killafornia [LP]
It Dies Today - The Caitiff Choir / Forever Scorned [2 LP]
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak (Deluxe) [2 LP] (includes trifold jacket with posters + lyric sheet + CD album)
Poison The Well - Tear From The Red / The Opposite Of December [2 LP]
Poison The Well - You Come Before... [LP]
Racetraitor / Burn It Down - Make Them Talk [LP]
Shai Hulud / Another Victim - A Whole New Level Of [LP]
Soulja Boy Tell'em - iSouljaBoyTellem [2 LP]
Terror - One w/The Underdogs [LP]
This Is Hell - Misfortunes [LP]
This Is Hell - Sundowning [LP]
Throwdown - Vendetta / Haymaker [2 LP]
Throwdown - Venom & Tears [LP]
Walls Of Jericho - The American Dream [LP]
Walls Of Jericho - With Devils Amongst Us All / All Hail The Dead [2 LP]
LMFAO - I'm In Miami Bitch (ft. Pitbull) 12''
Nas - Make The World Go Round (feat. Chris Brown & The Game) 12''
Ne-Yo - Mad 12''
Pleasure P - Boyfriend #2 12''
Plies - Put It On Ya (feat. Chris J) b/w Want It Need It (feat. Ashanti) 12''
Rick Ross - Here I Am (feat. Nelly & Avery Storm) 12''
T-Pain - Chopped N Skrewed (feat. Ludacris) 12''
Eighteen Visions - Vanity 7''
Harvest - Transitions 7''
Poison The Well - Tear From The Red 7''

As always, I want to thank DJ Spyder over at http://dj-spyder.blogspot.com/ for this great data!

Classic Rock Videos

Tommy James & The Shondells Hanky Panky

Despite digital downloads making headway into CD sales, customers young and old are still attracted to vinyl.

I am drawn to these wonderful stories about vinyl, this one from 'down under':

By Andrew Brown

“This recording is meant to be listened to on vinyl,” states a message emblazoned across the back covers of the CD versions of rock group Slint’s albums, Tweez and Spiderland. The CDs have no labelling, making it difficult to work out which way to insert it into a CD player.

Written inside the gatefold-style packaging of the CD version of Shellac’s 1994 album At Action Park is the statement: “This was not mastered directly to metal or pressed into 165 grams of virgin dye-blackened vinyl. There is, in fact, nothing at all special about the manufacture of this compact disc.”

But what is special about vinyl?

Sales of records are on the increase as a number of articles have purported, including “Vinyl May Be Final Nail in CDs Coffin” at Wired.com, and Time magazine’s “Vinyl Gets Its Groove Back“. I went to three record shops in Sydney to get their view on whether they have seen a noticeable resurgence of the PVC disc, and why this is occurring at a time when music is so easily and readily available off the Internet.

“I think CDs are finished,” says Ian Vellins, store manager at Ashwoods Music and Books.

The store opened in 1932, the same year as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and is now located in York Street. Both Alex Vellins, also a store manager at Ashwoods, and Ian agree that the combination of music libraries like iTunes and listening devices like flash drives, will make CDs redundant. But vinyl will live on.

“When [CDs] first came out, [vinyl] went into a nosedive and now it’s just popped back up again,” says Ian.

“You can’t download a piece of plastic,” says Alex.

Alex, who is 18 years old, says that many of his friends have begun collecting vinyl.

Most album requests at Ashwoods, apart from classical music, are for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and “punk vinyl” such as Dead Kennedys, The Clash and Sex Pistols, all on vinyl. Then there are the psychedelic garage bands which, according to Ian, “you can’t even have them because they just last about 3 seconds.”

And in the jazz department, Miles Davis and Coltrane are fashionable.

“But the things that don’t sell are things like Red Hot Chilli Peppers and U2,” says Ian. “This sort of popular stuff is not popular.”

While they are hard to come by, rare records can demand high prices. Take the 1967 Casino Royale soundtrack for instance which Ian says can fetch up to 300 dollars, or early Elvis Presley albums, released on the Sun label, which have sold for an amazing 1000 dollars.

But a major issue, according to Ian, is that digital downloads are killing the music.

“Yeah, it’s like everybody’s got it,” he says. “I don’t know if democratic is the right word, but it’s like they put socialism into capitalism as a music form and it doesn’t work. Capitalism drove it, but that’s gone now because [the music] is so easily attainable. So it’s made a different dynamic. The dynamic related to music as a revolutionary force has gone because it’s been emasculated in a weird sort of way.”

“The main increase [that I've noticed] has been in new release stuff,” says Michael Fisher, store manager at Red Eye Shop 3, adding that the price of new release vinyl has dropped over the last five or six years.

He says that it’s difficult to tell whether sales of older vinyl have increased because it has always been the big thing for the store.

“Frequently, I think groups are putting more effort into packaging of the vinyl, actually making it quite a piece in its own right, either through gatefold sleeves, or through extra tracks,” says Michael.

Red Eye opened as one store in 1981. They now have three stores, shop 1 and shop 2 located in the same building on King Street, and shop 3 on Pitt Street.

“Certainly the trend this year seems to be a lot of groups are putting out the vinyl with a code to download, and frequently with a CD also inside the vinyl packaging,” says Michael. “That looks like it might be more of the way of the future really.”

An example of this is Shellac’s most recent album, Excellent Italian Greyhound which included a CD with the vinyl version of the album.

A code was also provided with the vinyl version of Blonde Redhead’s 23 to download the album as mp3s. The note included states: “Only three downloads per each coupon allowed, so if you share this with a friend and they beat you to it, then you lose out.”

In the past year Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails released albums for digital download before releasing any ‘hard copy’ of their music. Michael says that the price of Radiohead vinyl is comparable to the CD version of the album, so “that’s certainly picking up some vinyl sales.” But Nine Inch Nails’ albums on vinyl are still more expensive, so only “diehard fans” buy them.

Two years ago, the predominant vinyl sellers were dance music and punk as they were popular among DJs, says Michael.

“Now it’s actually a little more across the board,” he says as he points to one of the distinctive red walls covered in vinyl. “Even things like Flight of the Concord sells much better on vinyl for us that it does on CD. So it’s really all over the place now.”

The Beatles reissues are also getting sales. “I wouldn’t have expected it was going to go well, because they’re not rare records. But they’re selling great.”

The most expensive album Red Eye has sold in recent times was a Japanese edition of The Beatles’ The White Album on red vinyl. It went for $500.

But does vinyl sound better than CD? An article at Howstuffworks.com claims that with a CD, the listener is not getting the full sound. The debate continues to rage.

One example where vinyl certainly sounds better is the last PJ Harvey album, says Michael. “On vinyl [it] came out on 45 [rpm], rather than 33 [rpm] as it’s only about 28 minutes long. When they’re putting it on 45, they’re stretching the grooves, and so you are getting a really great sound.”

This difference in sound also applies to mp3s. Baz Scott, store owner at Egg Records in Wilson Street, Newtown, says that many people are surprised when they hear for the first time on vinyl, songs that they had previously only heard through their iPod.

“They come into the store and hear something on the big speakers and I’ve had the comment several times; people have come up and said, “What are you playing? Is this a different version or something else?” And I go ‘no, it’s just that you’re hearing a lot of the highs and lows that because of the compression thing with mp3s and what have you, all those sorts of little nuances can be lost.’”

Baz and his brother-in-law opened Egg Records 8 years ago. Baz began working in the store full-time a year and a half ago after his brother-in-law moved to Brisbane and open another Egg Records.

At the moment, Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace stands guard just inside the door.

While there might be a return to vinyl because the sound is better, the Internet is having an effect on record stores in another way.

“Finding rare stuff is becoming harder and harder, because the ebay factor has killed a lot,” says Baz. “That’s killed a lot of stores worldwide because people think they can get big dollars for it, and all that sort of stuff, but it varies. I tend to keep a lot of the high price stuff, even though I may not get the sales for it, but I’d rather have some interesting things.”

“We sell reconditioned turntables and amplifiers and on average, I might sell one a week,” says Baz. “The thing is, I’m getting younger people coming in and they want vinyl. They’ve got the CD, or they’ve done the download, but they want the vinyl.”

But in the end, the attraction of vinyl records is more than just the sound and music. There’s the aesthetic appeal as well.

“It’s that whole thing of art and music together,” says Baz.

SOURCE: http://andrewbrown.tumblr.com/

Album Cover Art

We are all the way to #8 of Gigwise.com's top 50 sexiest and dirtiest album covers (Gigwise comments in quotes):


8. The Rolling Stones: 'Sticky Fingers' - "One of the most infamous album covers of all time and an irrefutable classic. Conceived by Andy Warhol and executed by Billy Name and Craig Braun, early editions actually included a working zip. The well-endowed chap in question is apparently Joe Dallesandro and not Mick Jagger who is apparently hung like a mouse. The sleeve was later parodied by Motley Crue on their debut album Too Fast For Love in 1981."

The artwork for Sticky Fingers—which features a working zipper that opened to reveal a man in cotton briefs was conceived by American pop artist Andy Warhol, photographed by Billy Name and designed by John Pasche. The cover, a photo of a male crotch clad in tight blue jeans, was assumed by many fans to be an image of Mick Jagger, however the people actually involved at the time of the photo shoot claim that Warhol had several different men photographed (Jagger was not among them) and never revealed which shots he used. Among the candidates, Jed Johnson, Warhol's lover at the time denied it was his likeness (he died in 1996 aboard TWA Flight 800) although his twin brother Jay is a possibility. Those closest to the shoot and subsequent design name Factory artist and designer Corey Tippin as the likeliest candidate. After retailers complained that the zipper was causing damage to the vinyl (from stacked shipments of the record), the zipper was "unzipped" slightly to the middle of the record, where damage would be minimized. The album features the first usage of the "Tongue and Lip Design" designed by John Pasche. In Spain the original cover was replaced with a "Can of fingers" cover, and "Sister Morphine" was replaced by the Chuck Berry composition "Let it Rock".

In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Sticky Fingers the "No.1 Greatest Album Cover" of all time.

Vinyl records are increasingly popular with youths

By MELANIE ALVES

Fringed vests and platform shoes have long been tucked away, but vintage vinyl is finding a new audience.

Across SouthCoast, more and more people, especially teens and young adults, say they are rediscovering the authentic sound and impressive quality of record albums.

Vinyl phonographs were introduced in 1940 and ruled for the next 40 or 50 years before falling into near extinction with the arrival of cassettes, compact discs and MP3 players.

But despite the array of advanced technology in the music business, "old-fashioned" albums still find an audience. Local music stores such as Vinyl Stage Music in New Bedford and Newbury Comics in Dartmouth, as well as some thrift shops, offer vinyl-lovers a variety of old and new releases.

Several local record collectors shared how they began collecting albums and what they like about them.

Alison Cleveland, a 17-year-old Fairhaven High School senior and record collector for the past two years, said she first became interested in vinyl when she discovered her parents' old albums and found bands she liked among them.

She soon started buying her own records from her favorite bands including The Beatles, The Who and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Alison said she enjoys collecting because, "It's a lot of fun, it's like a hobby. Albums are more interesting than CDs. Sometimes just the art on the cover makes me want to buy a certain album."

While she doesn't think the quality of records is better than CDs, "They sound more realistic than the clean sound of newer technology," she said.

Bryan Cabido, a 19-year-old from New Bedford, has been collecting for about a year. He enjoys listening to records because "they are like a window into the past," he said.

"Most of the records I own were produced around the time the music was released, and I think that's really cool."

Bob Boyer, owner of Sunset Records in Somerset, said his customers range from 15 to 70 years old, but noted that, "Records have gotten popular with teenagers in the past few years."

One of his customers, Brandon Rebello, 23, of New Bedford, said he got into albums when he first heard The Beatles because he wanted to experience the music he liked the way it was released.

Teens tend to rebel against their parents in one way or another, very frequently in their musical choices. However, one of the things most of the young collectors had in common was that many of them got into albums and the music they listen to through their parents.

Many of their parents grew up in the 1960s and '70s when the songs became popular.

Brandon Freitas, 20, of New Bedford has loved the same music as his parents throughout his childhood. Although he discovered records on his own when he bought his first album, "The BeeGees Greatest Hits," at the age of 12, his musical taste came from his parents, he said.

"I love the vintage factor of them — everything about them from the cover art to just the fact that someone 40 years ago enjoyed this record the same way I'm enjoying it today," Brandon said.

The popularity of record albums among young people may not be an act of rebellion against their parents, but a rebellion of a different kind. Mr. Boyer suggests that it may be "a corporate iPod backlash."

Whether it's that or simply the history and eye-catching artwork that characterizes vinyl, for at least some of SouthCoast's younger generation, everything old really is new again.


SOURCE: http://www.southcoasttoday.com

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 12/13/2008

1. LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK STEREO black & gold label matrix 1R/1G - $4,610.94 - Start: $1.50 Bids: 40

2. 45rpm - David Bowie "Janine" / "All The Madmen" Mercury 73173 - $3781.85 - Start: $5.00 Bids: 15

3. LP - Uncle Funkenstein "Together Again" Private Press - $3,383.33 - Start: $9.99 - Bids: 27

4. LP - Dynamic Five "Love Is The Key" Manhattan/UA - $3,333.00 - Start: $999.99 - Bids: 10

5. 12? - Led Zeppelin “Road Box” - $3,322.62 Start: $75.00 Bids: 37

Lots of old friends and reappearances this week: First, a Beatles' "Please Please Me" UK Stereo first press sells for over $4.6k. This record, in various iterations, has appeared several times over the past few months. This particular record is one of 900 stereo edtions on Parlophone made from the mother stampers designated 1R and 1G.

David Bowie is here again. In the #2 spot, the original Mercury U.S. 45 from "Man Who Sold The World" bids past $3.7k.

The next two entries are new to the list and both are very rare soul and funk LP's. The first, a private press LP out of Indiana from Uncle Funkenstein sells for almost $3.4k. In the #4 spot, the never released Dynamic Five promo LP peaks a third of the way past $3.3k.

Lastly, another recent visitor to the list, Led Zeppelin's entire catalog on 12" 45 RPM 200 gram records, "The Road Box" sells for a little more than $3.3k

Special thanks (as always) to Brian at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com for this great data!

This Date In Music History-December 15

Birthdays:

Paul Simonon-The Clash (1955)

Carmine Appice-Vanilla Fudge (1946)

Dave Clark-Dave Clark Five (1942)

Cindy Birdsong-Supremes (1939)


They Are Missed:

Jerry Wallace, US singer was born in 1928.

Alan Freed, American DJ was born in 1922. The man credited with giving “Rock 'n' Roll” its name (died 1965).

Soul singer Jesse Belvin was born in 1932 (died-1960). He co-wrote the Penguins' hit "Earth Angel" and was instrumental in developing the West Coast R&B sound.

Jazz musician Fats Waller died in 1943. Wrote (“Ain't Misbehavin”)

Max Yasgur, owner of the Woodstock farm where the 1969 festival was held, was born in 1919. (died 1973)

The co-founder of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun died in 2006, at age 83. Ertegun who founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947, helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the early 70s.

A single-engine plane carrying Glenn Miller disappeared in thick fog over the English Channel while en route to Paris in 1944.

Rockabilly performer Joey Castle died from brain cancer in 1978 (age 36).


History:

In 1957, Sammy Davis Jr. hosted a syndicated radio talk show with a round-table discussion of Rock 'n' Roll. His guests were Columbia Records executive Mitch Miller and MGM Records president Arnold Maxim. When Davis and Miller blasted Rock 'n' Roll as "the comic books of music," Maxim took an opposing viewpoint and says, "I don't see any end to Rock 'n' Roll in the near future."

The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" LP went gold in 1967.

Do They Know It's Christmas?" entered the UK chart at #1 in 1984, where it would stay for five weeks. The Bob Geldof produced song, specifically written to raise money for relief of famine in Ethiopia, was recorded by leading Irish and British musicians, including Phil Collins, Bono, George Michael, Sting, David Bowie, Boy George and Paul McCartney. The record sold more than three million copies in Britain alone and enjoyed similar success around the world.

Soul singer James Brown was sentenced to six years in prison in 1988 for various offenses including possession of weapons and resisting arrest.

While performing with the Jefferson Airplane on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968, Grace Slick appeared in blackface and raised a black-leather glove in a power salute at the conclusion of "Crown of Creation". The incident was one of several which led to the show's cancellation the following season.

Charlie Rich started a two week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1973 with “The Most Beautiful Girl” (#2 in UK).

In 1969, Eric Clapton joined John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band as part of Peace for Christmas, a benefit concert for UNICEF. George Harrison, Delaney and Bonnie, Billy Preston and The Who's drummer, Keith Moon also took part. The concert was the last live appearance that Lennon ever made in his home country.

Billy Joel had his last number one album in 1989 when, "Stormfront" reached the top of the US charts. The LP also contained his final #1 hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire."

The Sex Pistols were refused entry into the USA in 1977, two days before a scheduled NBC-TV appearance. (Johnny Rotten because of a drug conviction, Paul Cook & Sid Vicious because of 'moral turpitude' and Steve Jones because of his criminal record)