The vinyl record collecting blog - with news about new vinyl record releases, vinyl record sales, new music releases, album cover art and weekly features
heard from an old friend in vinyl James P. Goss and he has graciously given me two signed copies of his paperback book Vinyl Lives to give away to two of our lucky readers. The first book blew me away, as you read the stories and tales of records that encompasses the vinyl record menu.
The second book follows the same path and Vinyl Lives IIprofiles record stores like the Electric Fetus (Minnesota), Dusty Groove (Illinois), Criminal (Georgia) and Jerry's (Pennsylvania). The stories of nine record collectors, all from different areas in the US are also included.
These books are written for the everyman and are bound to fill any collectors palette with tales of vinyl and the people behind the records. You can learn more and order your copies today at James' website: VinylLives.com
The contest is simple. The 9th emailer will receive a signed copy of Vinyl Lives and the 16th emailer will receive a signed copy of Vinyl Livess II. Enter by emailing me at rbenson30@wi.rr.com with the words "Vinyl Lives" in the subject line. Limit one email entry per person. Contest is limited to the US. Good luck!
highlights:
On March 1, 1967, working at Abbey Road studios, London, the Beatles started recording a new John Lennon song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Lennon's son, Julian, inspired the song with a nursery school drawing he called "Lucy — in the sky with diamonds." The picture, which was of a little girl with lots of stars, was his classmate - Lucy O’Donnell, who also lived in Weybridge, and attended the same school as Julian. Shortly after the song's release, speculation arose that the first letter of each of the title's nouns intentionally spelled LSD. Although Lennon denied this, the BBC banned the song. In a 2004 interview, Paul McCartney said that the song is about LSD, stating, "A song like 'Got to Get You Into My Life,' that's directly about pot, although everyone missed it at the time." "Day Tripper," he says, "that's one about acid. 'Lucy in the Sky,' that's pretty obvious. There's others that make subtle hints about drugs, but, you know, it's easy to overestimate the influence of drugs on the Beatles' music.
On March 1, 1973, Pink Floyd released their eighth studio album, 'The Dark Side of the Moon.' The LP was an immediate success, topping the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart for one week. It subsequently remained in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988, longer than any other album in history. With an estimated 50 million copies sold, it is Pink Floyd's most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It has twice been remastered and re-released, and has been covered in its entirety by several other acts. It spawned two singles, "Money" and "Time." In addition to its commercial success, 'The Dark Side of the Moon' is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
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very interesting email and conversation from Aris from SnagFilms, a New York-based film distributor. They are releasing a documentary called "Beware of Mr. Baker," which is a movie about rock and roll icon and legendary drummer Ginger Baker of Cream. Look for more coming next week!
Relapse Records is extremely excited to announce the signing of Cleveland, OH metal/hardcore veterans Ringworm! Formed in 1990, Ringworm (Human Furnace - Vocals, Matt Sorg - Guitar, John Comprix - Guitar, Ed Stephens - Bass, Danny Zink - Drums) has previously released six full-length records on labels Deathwish, A389 and Victory Records in addition to playing countless shows with the likes of Cro-Mags, Integrity, Kreator, Goatwhore, Nasum, and many others. The band will be entering the studio to record their Relapse debut this April. Vocalist Human Furnace commented on the signing:
"Throughout our existence I've felt that RINGWORM has always been the "black sheep", never quite fitting into any specific genre mold. Sometimes too metal for hardcore, other times too hardcore for metal. We enjoy distorting the line between the two and, often, completely destroying it. But I've always felt that we've never quite had a home that understood where we're coming from and embraced the fact what we are a "black sheep" and we aren't cookie-cut bullshit. We feel that we finally found that home. They understand that there are legions of black sheep out there that don't fit into society's "one size fits all" mold. We couldn't be more excited to be more working with Relapse."
Additionally, the band will be hitting the road for a string of shows starting this Saturday in Reading, PA including dates with Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, and Today Is The Day. A complete listing of dates is included below.
Ringworm Tour Dates:
Mar 2- Reading PA - Club Reverb (Keystone Hardcore Jam) Mar 3- Brooklyn NY- The Acheron Mar 4- Albany NY- Bogie's Mar 5- Long Island NY- Spotlight Mar 6- Waterbury CT- Brooklyn Cafe Mar 7- Boston MA- Great Scott Mar 8- Frederick MD- Cafe 611 Mar 9- Lansing OH- Lansing Community Center (Hellbent Fest) Apr 8- Grand Rapids MI- Pyramid Scheme (w Today is the Day) Apr 9- Columbus OH- Ace of Cups (w Today is the Day) Apr 10- Newport KY- The Southgate House Revival (w Today is the Day) Jun 8- Cincinnati OH- Bogart's (Death on the Vine w/ Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and more)
RELAPSE RECORDS & CHAOS IN TEJAS: Announce Official SXSW Showcase
Renowned independent heavy music label, Relapse Records, has teamed up with Austin, TX’s premiere heavy music festival, Chaos in Tejas, to put together an unforgettable night of auditory madness at this year’s SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. The official showcase will feature a stage curated by each group and will take place at Red 7 on Saturday March 16th from 8 PM to 2 AM. The showcase will be free to all SXSW badge and wristband holders and open to the general public on a first come first serve basis. Further details on the showcase will be available via the Red 7 website shortly at this location.
The Relapse Records stage will be headlined by Savannah, GA’s sludge-rock warriors Black Tusk and feature sets from Relapse label-mates Royal Thunder, ASG, Howl, Inter Arma, and Call of the Void.
The Chaos In Tejas stage will be headlined by New Orleans bounce superstar Big Freedia and include performances from a diverse lineup including Antwon, Iron Lung, Power Trip, Merchandise, Parquet Courts and the Novice.
Relapse Records formed in 1990 and has released albums from a wide array of artists over the past 23 years including Mastodon, Red Fang, Baroness, Amorphis, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Suffocation, Neurosis, Dying Fetus and many more. The label recently released a 20 song sampler in tribute to Pat Egan, their longtime Director of Sales, who tragically passed away on Monday February 18th of pneumonia. The sampler is available for purchase here. with all proceeds benefitting his daughter’s college fund.
Chaos In Tejas takes over Austin for the 9th year May 30 through June 2. The fest is a nice lil mix of punk, hardcore, metal, hip hop, garage rock, indie rock and all points in between from around the world. This year's line up features The Damned, The Bats, Infest, Iceage, Framtid, Merchandise, Grouper, the Rats, Tragedy, Andy Stott, Akitsa, the Marked Men, Terveet Kadet and much much more. For a complete line up and more info click here.
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ZOZOBRA Premiere New Song "Venom Hell" via Pitchfork
Boston, MA's Zozobra have unleashed a brand new track from their highly anticipated new album Savage Masters, due out April 2nd on LP/Digital via Brutal Panda Records. The song "Venom Hell", described by Pitchfork as "Unsane covering Converge" can be streamed here.
Savage Masters, the band's first release in five years, is an unrelenting fury of post-hardcore ferocity and sludge-tinged amplifier crunch, and can easily be called their most aggressive and straightforward release to date. Bursting out the gate with a bold, determined purpose, Savage Masters is an unrelenting fury of post-hardcore ferocity and sludge-tinged amplifier crunch. The brainchild of Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Old Man Gloom), Savage Masters was produced and recorded by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Pelican) and features long-time Cave In bandmates Adam McGrath (guitars) and J.R. Conners (drums).
The track "Black Holes" was previously released and is available for streaming here while a preview of the Glyn Smyth album art and pre-order packages are available here with digital pre-orders available here.
March 1, 2013 – The moment you have been waiting for is finally here! TODAY, Brooklyn outfit and newly claimed buzz band, SHARKMUFFIN have just released their debut 7” The Lake / Big.
Gaining accolades throughout the online music world, singer/guitarist Tarra Thiessen has been creating quite a frenzy with her vocals, being compared frequently to the likes of Chrissie Hynde and referred to as “Indie Rock's next great front woman.”
The standout single, “The Lake” is a living eulogy to a best friend lost in a sea of addiction. Thiessen grapples with her emotional disconnect by turning the tragic experience of her best friend's addiction into a triumphant tune that echoes love and loss.
Channeling the brilliant Riot Grrrl acts of years passed, such as Sleater-Kinney, Sharkmuffin has put a new twist on the genre, creating a boisterous sound that is truly their own deemed “Dirty Garage Pop.”
The combination of singer/guitarist Tarra Thiessen, alongside bassist Natalie Kirch with Drew Adler on drums, is deadly. Thiessen delivers gutsy vocals that will send shivers down your very spine. Jumping between gentle moans to rough, forceful screams, her vocals are sweetly complimented by Kirch's lighter, dreamier melodies which make you expect the unexpected. These Brooklynite-Punk-Rock-Debutants are smart, sassy and sexy....be on the lookout.
