The vinyl record collecting blog - with news about new vinyl record releases, vinyl record sales, new music releases, album cover art and weekly features
Lots of great vinyl for this week, I have Black Sabbath's reissues on my list as well as vinyl from Brian Setzer, Dead Can Dance, Echo & the Bunnymen, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the B-52's and Former Thieves, just to name a few.
As always, no wagering allowed:
Ace - How Long: Best of Ace Alela Diane - Alela Diane & Wild Divine (vinyl)
Allen Toussaint - The Lost Sessions
American Babies - Flawed Logic
Anti-Social Music - ... is the Future of Everything
Asia - Live at the London Forum (2 CDs)
Batillus - Furnace
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (reissue) (vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Paranoid (reissue) (vinyl)
Black Sabbath - Volume 4 (reissue) (vinyl)
Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Souls for Rock N Roll (reissue) (vinyl)
Blackfield - Welcome to My DNA
Blu - Her Favorite Colo(u)r
Bob Schneider - Perfect Day
Bonnie Guitar - By The Fireside: The Velvet Lounge
Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Sweeney - Must Be Blind
Brian Setzer - Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL! (vinyl)
Chris Thile - Stealing Second (reissue)
Clare May - Hush
Clyde Stacy - Hoy Hoy: Gonna Shake That Shack Tonight
Cruachan - Blood on the Black Robe
Dalton Academy Warblers - Glee: The Music presents The Warblers
Dead Can Dance - Into The Labyrinth (reissue) (vinyl)
Del The Funky Homosapien - Golden Era
Dengue Fever - Cannibal Courtship
Duff McKagan - The Taking
Echo & the Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here (reissue) (vinyl)
Eliza Doolittle - Eliza Doolittle
Eric Johnson - Up Close (vinyl)
Eternal Summers - Prisoner (EP)
Former Thieves - The Language That We Speak (vinyl)
Foundation - When The Smoke Clears
French Horn Rebellion - The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
George Hamilton IV - My North Country Home (3 CDs)
Gorillaz - The Fall
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
I'm From Barcelona - Forever Today (vinyl)
INXS - Kick (reissue) (vinyl)
Implodes - Black Earth
International Submarine Band - Safe At Home (vinyl)
James Pants - James Pants
Janis Ian - Between the Lines (Gold CD)
Jenniferever - Silesia
Jerry Lee Lewis - Old Time Religion: Rare Recordings of Jerry Lee Lewis in Church Preachin', Shoutin' & Singin'
Joel Jerome - When Beck Was Cool
John Zorn - Satyr's Play / Cerberus
Kimberly Caldwell - Without Regret
Kode9 and the Spaceape - Black Sun
Lanu - Her 12 Faces
Lenka - Two
Lisa Hartman - Hold On
Lisa Hartman - Letterock
Lisa Hartman - Lisa Hartman
Lower Than Atlantis - World Record
MF Doom - Operation Doomsday: Lunchbox
Malajube - La Caverne
Matt Sweeney & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Must Be Blind (vinyl)
Matthewdavid - Outmind
Mf Doom - Operation Doomsday: Lunchbox
Micachu & The Shapes & The London Sinfonietta - Chopped & Screwed (vinyl)
Michael Hurley - Long Journey (reissue) (vinyl)
Mike Birbiglia - Sleepwalk With Me Live
Montrose - Montrose
My Goodness - My Goodness
Nedry - Condors
No Turning Back - Take Control
Norther - Circle Regenerated
O'Death - Outside
Pantha Du Prince - XI Versions of Black Noise (vinyl)
Pendragon - Passion (2 CDs)
People's Temple - Sons of Stone
Periphery - Icarus Lives (EP)
Pete Seeger - The Complete Bowdoin College Concert 1960 (2 CDs)
Phil Everly - Phil Everly
Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks
Queen - Greatest Hits 2
Ralph Stanley - Mother's Prayer
Ricky Nelson - Million Sellers / Rick Is 21
Roger Clyne - Unida Cantina
Roscoe Dash - Ready Set Go!
Robyn Ludwick - Out Of These Blues (vinyl)
Septicflesh - The Great Mass
Steve Miller Band - Let Your Hair Down
Street Chant - Means
Sugarfoot - Sugar Kiss
Superchunk - Here's Where the Strings Come In (remastered)
Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth
The B-52's - The B-52's (reissue) (vinyl)
The Belle Brigade - The Belle Brigade
The DiSCiPLiNES - ViRGiNS OF MENACE (vinyl)
The Flaming Lips - Heady Nuggs: The First 5 Warner Bros. Records, 1992-2002 (Box Set)
The French Horn Rebellion - The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger - La Carotte Bleue (vinyl)
The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart
The Heavenly States - Oui Camera Oui EP (vinyl)
The High Llamas - Talahomi Way
The Kinks - Kinda Kinks (remastered with bonus disc)
The Kinks - Kinks (remastered with bonus disc)
The Kinks - Kinks Kontroversy (remastered with bonus disc)
The Radio Dept. - Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-10 (vinyl)
The Tubes - Wild West Show (reissue)
The Unthanks - Last
The Wave Pictures - Beer In The Breakers
Title Tracks - In Blank
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (vinyl)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Yor're Gonna Get It (vinyl)
Tracy Nelson - Victim Of The Blues
Tune-Yards - WHOKILL (vinyl)
Various Artists - Boogie 4 Stu
White Mystery - Blood & Venom
Winds Of Plague - Against The World
Wolfram - Wolfram
Woody Guthrie - Live Wire (reissue)
Xray Eyeballs - Not Nothing
Zoe Muth & Lost High Rollers - Starlight Hotel
tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l
Remember, if you are a record company and have new releases or know of any I missed (especially vinyl), please email me and I will add your music to the list. I also do reviews of new vinyl, email me for more information.
Have new music for the list? Email me at rbenson30@wi.rr.com
on saturday, hours after the record stores opened, i took a quick look at eBay to see if any of the special vinyl record releases were up for sale. Yep, over 900 of them. i looked sunday and there were exactly 2,085 record store day items up for sale at 6pm (cst). and today, there are close to 2,200 items up for sale. how does this benefit the physical retail outlet when everything just shows up on the auction giant? do the record stores actually make a profit, when they only get a limited number of copies anyway? i guess everyone has the right to be a 'flipper'.....
i love the concept of rsd, however, as i stated before, they should include online retailers as well. if it is a celebration of vinyl, let's include all the vinyl vendors and quit drawing lines in the sand. it all ends up online anyway......
i found some interesting takes on this self-proclaimed 'vinyl holiday,' read on:
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speaking of flippers:
Record Store Day Fallout 2011: How Much Those Exclusives Will Cost You Now
By Josiah Hughes
Following much fanfare and lead-up time, the 2011 edition of Record Store Day attracted droves of eager vinyl lovers to record stores across the globe as they sought exclusive releases on Saturday (April 16). There was, however, also a large pocket of record collectors looking to flip the exclusive releases, many of whom already made a pretty penny this weekend.
Just like last year, a quick search over on eBay reveals that some collector scum have made big bucks off of some Record Store Day exclusives. The biggest sale, by far, was Ed Banger Records' The Bee Sides, a box of five seven-inches featuring new and rare tracks from Justice, SebastiAn, Busy P and others. Of the few completed auctions with this set, someone in the UK shelled out approximately $485 Canadian. That's nearly $100 per seven-inch!
An anonymous internet comment is hardly something to pay much heed, but for some reason those five words have been rattling around my skull since I first encountered them a day ago.
The commenter was responding to an announcement of the split 7-inch Superchunk and Coliseum released for this year’s Record Store Day. The two songs, both Misfits covers, were released as free downloads long before the record was pressed in its edition of 2,000 copies. The record, this commenter seemed to believe, is utterly unnecessary.
But, I mean, of course it is. Isn’t every record? And isn’t every limited-edition collector’s piece an example of false rarity? They could press more, but they didn’t.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Music fans started lining up outside Jack White's Third Man Records shortly after midnight, vying for something special on Record Store Day.
White was more than willing to accommodate them, opening his store a little early Saturday for vinyl enthusiasts.
"Record stores are closing all over the place, yet vinyl record sales are the only thing growing in the music industry," White told The Associated Press. "So it's a beautiful thing that everyone can come together and release these special releases, whether they're brand new or old or obscure or never released tracks, whatever they are, it's really cool that people can get out and buy them. I mean look at how many people are here to buy records. That's pretty cool. Very cool."
There were early morning queues, a scramble for 7ins and at least one broken foot. But in the melee of Record Store Day, did anyone else notice a lack of women?
For all the bluster that's surrounded Record Store Day this year, the 800-strong queue that curled around London's Rough Trade East at 9.30am on Saturday was eerily quiet. Blame mild manners, hangovers and pre-emptive disillusionment for the calm.
Adam Shoesmith joined the queue at 7.45am. "I'm after the Radiohead 12in, Beth Ditto's EP and Danger Mouse's single for a friend." The hugely limited Radiohead single eluded him – at present, there are 65 copies for sale on eBay – but he did manage to pick up Ditto's EP with Simian Mobile Disco.
very good behind-the-scenes look written up at thenytimes.com
In Age of Digital Music, Vinyl Gets Second Life in a Brooklyn Factory
By KRISTOFER RÍOS
In an industrial and uninviting stretch of Brooklyn, near several strip clubs and a factory that makes electrical tubing, Thomas Bernich’s small plant recycles vinyl and preserves a fading piece of history.
In fact, Mr. Bernich’s workplace in Sunset Park is one of the few of its kind in New York City and in the country.
Inside the one-story, red-brick factory on 42nd Street, boxes of discarded albums from used-record stores are piled high on wooden pallets, awaiting their end and a new beginning
i loved this article, well written and i can get the vibe, love record conventions (when i can afford to go! because i never leave empty-handed!)
Discology 101
At the SCAD Record Fair, a new generation gets hip to vinyl
By Bill DeYoung
Video killed the radio star, the compact disc killed the vinyl record, downloading killed the compact disc.
Vinyl, once thought to be as extinct as the passenger pigeon, is making a surprise comeback. According to Nielsen's SoundScan, vinyl record sales have increased significantly over the past four years. In 2009, 2.5 million albums were sold in this country, up from 1.88 million in 2008.
Back in 2001, when the CD reigned supreme, the numbers for vinyl barely registered at all.
At last weekend's third Savannah Record Fair, hundreds of young people - college students, from all appearances, kids who probably weren't even born when those 12-inch slabs of plastic were already starting to disappear from retail racks - combed through boxes and boxes of vintage vinyl LPs. There were very few CDs for sale
EDMONTON — Dwight Young has collected records since 1964, since the night his Mother marched him to a neighbour’s television to watch the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. He was six years old.
As he flicks through albums in fruit crates, elbow-to-elbow with fellow collectors, Young has never lost his love for the needle and vinyl.
“There’s just something about the sound of vinyl, especially the originals, there’s just something magical about it,” he said Sunday at the Edmonton Music Collectors Show.
great story about the seminal band and what it means to other musicians:
Slash, Korn, Slayer, Slipknot, Anthrax, Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, Five Finger Death Punch, Michelle Rodriguez and More Talk When They Discovered Metallica
Every hard rock fan has a Metallica story.
There was that moment of discovery either via a friend who had already seen the light, the radio, MTV back when they actually played music videos, the Heshers in the last row of math class, or one of the million VH1 specials about the band. There's nothing quite like the first time hearing Metallica either. It's life-changing for anyone who keeps themselves open to the music. No one will ever forget seeing the music video for "One", hearing the intro to "Enter Sandman", or falling under Master of Puppets' spell. Even for people who aren't fans, the first Metallica experience is paramount. However, for those of us who get it (and there are millions upon millions worldwide), it's a landmark moment.
Given the significance of discovering Metallica and with The Big Four taking over Indio next Saturday April 23, ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolorauthor Rick Florino spoke to numerous musicians and celebrities about the first time they heard Metallica and what the band means to them.
Topshelf Records Release Debut LP From By Surprise
Topshelf Records has announced the debut 12" from By Surprise (Haddon Heights, NJ), "Mountain Smashers," is now available. First pressing of the vinyl will be limited to 500 (400 Black and 100 Smoke).
Safely guarded behind four pairs of glasses and an arsenal of awkward tendencies, the members of By Surprise have spent an equal amount of time combing through the forgotten dust-filled grooves of 7-inch records released during the '90s indie label boom, as they have with the off-beat and inspirational works of Henry David Thoreau, Jack Kerouac, and Douglas Adams.
1. Amos Lee – Mission Bell
2. The Kills – Blood Pressures
3. The Raveonettes – Raven In The Grave
4. Panda Bear – Surfer’s Hymn 7"
5. D Watusi – Summer Nights 7"
6. Warpaint – The Fool
7. War On Drugs – Future Weather
8. War On Drugs – Wagonwheel Blues
9. Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose
10. Radiohead – King Of Limbs
11. Paperhead – Paperhead
12. The Strokes – Angles
13. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
14. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Live In London
15. Diarrhea Planet – Aloha 7"
16. The National – Boxer
17. Burial – Street Halo 12"
18. The Residents – Meet The Residents
19. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears – Scandalous
20. Hunx & His Punx – Too Young To Be In Love
21. Natural Child – White Man’s Burden 7"
22. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
23. Spacemen 3 – Take Me To The Other Side
24. Brian Eno – Another Green World
25. My Morning Jacket – It Still Moves
Top 10 Records at ShopRadioCast for the week of April 11 – April 18, 2011:
1. Rise Against / Face To Face Split 7″
2. Deftones – Adrenaline LP
3. Blink 182 – Dude Ranch LP (EXCLUSIVE Clear Green)
4. Deftones – Around The Fur LP
5. The Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits LP
6. La Dispute / Koji – Never Come Undone LP
7. Fake Problems – Songs For Teenagers 7″
9. Silverstein – Rescue
10. NOFX/The Spits 7″
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this just amazes me, maybe because i don't have a cell phone taped to my ear (heck, i don't even own one!). a program or 'app' that attempts to recreate the sound of a vinyl record playing your favorite song. and it sells......go figure....
VinylLove enhances your music with gramophone record crackle and pops
The fondest memories of my childhood involve listening to my uncle’s vinyl record collection (gramophone records we used to call them). A few decades later, our music is delivered as crystal clear digital files, but many audiophiles (rightfully) point out that digital lacks the warmth, depth and texture of analogue.
If that wasn’t the case, there would be no cottage industry of limited vinyl releases for niche markets such as DJing, audiophiles, hobbyists, etc. You’d think that in the 21st century there would be an app to recreate the magic of vinyl. Enter VinylLove, an iPad music player from Swedish developers Color Monkey and BinaryPeak.
Read the rest of this incredible story at 9to5mac.com
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pitchfork has this great album cover:
Thee Oh Sees Announce New Album
The San Franciscan garage-punk noisemakers Thee Oh Sees have been steadily cranking out slabs of messy psychedelic spaz for years. Their new album comes just a year after their last one, Warm Slime, and a few months after the band knocked me on my ass at SXSW. The 16-track new album comes bearing the awesome title Castlemania, and In the Red will release it on June 14. That's the cover art above.
Gene Autry recorded "Back in the Saddle Again" in 1939.
The Neil Young movie "Journey Through the Past" debuted at the Dallas Film Festival in 1973.
Alice Cooper's first TV special, "Welcome To My Nightmare: The Making Of A Record Album" aired in 1975.
In 1981, Yes temporarily split up when bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White left the group to rehearse with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame. The intended super group never got off the ground and Yes would reform 2½ years later, releasing "90125", which contained the number 1 single, "Owner of a Lonely Heart".
In 1984, Michael Jackson went into surgery in Los Angeles. Doctors performed scalp surgery to repair damage done after Jackson's hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial on January 27
In 1985, Liberace grossed more than $2,000,000 for his engagement at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. He broke his own record of $1.6 million.
Also in 1985 - Wham! became the first Western act to release a pop album, "Make It Big," in China.
In 1988, the Motown song writing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland is inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. what took them so long???
The album "Twice Shy" was released in 1989 by Great White.
In 1997, Bernard Edwards, bass guitarist for Chic, died of pneumonia in a Tokyo Hotel room while touring Japan. He had also worked with Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Johnny Mathis, Debbie Harry, Air Supply, Rod Stewart and many others.
In 2006, a sale of clothing owned by Elton John raised more than $700,000 for the singer's AIDS charity. Over 10,000 pieces were sold during a five-day sale in New York City at the specially-created shop, Elton's Closet, at New York's Rockefeller Centre.
celebrating birthdays today include Mike Vickers of Manfred Mann (1941) and Mark Thomas Tremonti of Creed (1974), among others.
as always, a special thank you to norm and jane at vinyl record talk for compiling this interesting data. be sure to stop by and listen to their weekly radio show, this should be an interesting week!
April 2010 / LP - Queen "The Works" Red Vinyl Columbia - $9,000.00
May 2010 / 45 - Elvis Presley "That's All Right" / "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" Sun 209 - $10,987.00
July 2010 / 45 - The Beatles "Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You" Parlophone UK Promo - $9,788.13
August 2010 / LP - Bob Dylan "Blood On The Tracks" Test Pressing - $8,000.00
September 2010 / 12" - Led Zeppelin “Road Box” Test Pressing - $6,100.00
October 2010 / LP - The Beatles IBC Studio Acetate - $7,966.00
November 2010 / 78 - Robert Johnson "Me & The Devil Blues" / "Little Queen Of Spades" Vocalion 04108 - $12,100.00
December 2010 / LP - Nirvana "Hormoaning" Clear Marbled Blue Red Purple Press - $7039.36
January 2010 / LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Gold Black label 1st Stereo - $8,238.88
February 2010 / LP - Annlies Schmidt "Bach: 6 Suites for Cello Alone" Ducretet-Thomson 300 C 043/4/5 - $11,212.00
March 2010 / LP - The Beatles "Please Please Me" Parlophone UK Bold Black labet 1st Stereo - $13,351.38
The top seller for the year again comes from The Beatles, and its the same record as last year at almost the same price. Low numbered "White Albums" got the top spot in 2008 and 2009. In 2010 and 2011 its the "Please Please Me" 1st Stereo press that is the #1 record both years, both selling in the month of March.
Absent from this year's annual list is any single Northern Soul single. In fact only one "fetish" item made the list this year, a Psych LP from Baltimore band Blueberry Pancake. All other records came from the gods themselves, with The Beatles taking the top spot four of twelve months.
More about this and other related vinyl record news at Vinyl Record Talk
A day after The Beatles get the top price of the year on the Top 5, a Sex Pistols acetate bids higher than any record since December 2008 (a low numbered "White Album" that sold for $30k). The Beatles have gotten the top spot on the annual list for all four of the years I've been doing the Top 5, so it'll be interesting to see if a piece of Beatles vinyl beats out the Sex Pistols in the coming year.
1. 10" - Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen" Acetate - $23,805.30
hope to be working more with collectorsweekly.com, a site that is dedicated to collecting. here is a great article and interview with famed music appraiser steven m h braitman:
By Dean Schaffer
Stephen M. H. Braitman has had a lifelong love affair with music, and has more than 20,000 vinyl records to prove it. In this interview, he discusses the British Invasion from a collector’s perspective, and explores the evolution of the technology behind the tunes—from 78s to 45s to LPs, from mono to stereo to quadrophonic. Braitman, who is both a music appraiser and collector, can be reached via his website, MusicAppraisals.com.
I was a Hollywood kid. My father was a TV and radio editor in the San Fernando Valley, and he allowed me to do my first writing to review concerts and shows for the newspaper. By 16 I was going to the Troubadour every week and reviewing all the acts—Joni Mitchell, Poco, Neil Young, Pentangle, Tim Buckley, all of them. I had a lot of friends in high school who really appreciated my being able to take them to the clubs for free.
The Idle Race was Jeff Lynne's Beatles-influenced group before he joined the Move and Electric Light Orchestra. This German single is from 1967
But as a younger kid, I really hated rock ’n’ roll music and pop music, and I disliked the Beatles and all that. I have a younger sister who was a total Beatlemaniac. She started getting into the ’60s scene, but I was more influenced at that time by my father’s interest in classical music.
I was, however, interested in the phenomenon, and it was fun to see what was going on, even though I was a classical-music snob. I mostly listened to Romantic music, but also getting into the 20th century, the Second Viennese School, Schoenberg and Webern. I loved Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, and George Gershwin.
I recall the first time I heard the Beatles song “We Can Work It Out”—that changed my whole idea about whether this music was really worth spending any time with. That song is rather complex in terms of harmonic structure, and that just set me off. I think that shows the influence of classical music on my tastes in pop music.
‘Marijuanaman’: Ziggy Marley looks for a hit in comic-book world
Look, up in the sky, it’s a bong, it’s plate of brownies — no, it’s … Marijuanaman. There are superheroes everywhere these days, so perhaps it’s no surprise that a cannabis-themed crusader is fighting the good fight on the cover of a (ahem) high-profile new project with musician Ziggy Marley as part of the creative team. But what’s intriguing is the hero on the cover is no bleary-eyed burnout looking for the Xbox controller in the couch. This pothead looks as intense as the Punisher, and Marley says there are meaningful messages rolled up within the tales’ action.
“It relates to the reality of why the plant is being criminalized and why it’s not being used in all of its facets,” said the five-time Grammy-winner and 42-year-old son of the late Bob Marley. “In the early days of American history, this plant was used much more widely, and then it became a demon and a devil.”
Newcastle’s Beatdown Records, The First Record Store I Ever Loved
By Jordan Waller
From quirky regulars to wisened store clerks and part-time jobs paid in vinyl. How Beatdown Records started my love affair with records…
I first came across Beatdown Records (or Steel Wheels if you’re a little older) during my first year at university in Newcastle. I had caught the ‘record bug’ several weeks earlier when I was introduced to the geeky delights of vinyl by my friend Stuart whom I met on my first day in the city. Bonding over a shared love of Belle and Sebastian and slightly arty European looking girls that were always too good for us. From the off I was fascinated by the black discs scattered around his room, everything from their smell to their artwork and the static crackle they made on his tiny turntable. Before long I had stumped up some money and got my own record player and quickly threw myself into scouring charity shops for music to add to my collection.
Older and Younger Generations Herald the Look and Sound of Records
By MYCAH PLEASANT LEDGER CORRESPONDENT
In an iPod-, iTunes-, MP3-obsessed world, there are those who reject the immediateness of modern music and gravitate to a classic source, one many people grew up with and new generations are learning to love.
Vinyl music, once the standard in the music world, has been making a slow comeback for several years now, a trend that doesn't surprise those who have appreciated it for years.
Aaron Conley, 33, of Lakeland began seriously collecting vinyl music 10 years ago, when he was working at the now-closed Woodpecker Records in Lakeland, but recalled times in high school where he dabbled in collecting.
Rare Beach Boys Song to be Released to Benefit Japan
Al Jardine has enlisted the voices and support of former Beach Boys bandmates Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston to release a new vinyl single in support of Japan relief efforts.
The first side of the single contains Don't Fight the Sea, a song composed by Jardine and Terry Jacks and originally recorded for Jardine's album A Postcard From California.
could it be? i may have a place for the thousand or so cassette tapes i have!
Cassettes make an unlikely comeback in Baltimore
Years after being upstaged by CDs and digital music, the tapes have become kitsch, collectable and even cool
By Sam Sessa, The Baltimore Sun
Every morning for the past eight months, Nicole Mazarakis wakes up, rolls out of bed and puts on music.
Instead of turning on an iPod or playing a CD, Mazarakis pops a cassette into the old tape deck in her bedroom. She likes classical tapes from composers like Mozart and Haydn, but lately she's been listening to a new cassette by the enigmatic Baltimore singer/songwriter Daniel Higgs.
Buddy Holly’s first single, “Blue Days, Black Nights” was released in 1956.
In 1965, the Hollies began their first US tour in New York. It wasn't until the following year that the group cracked the US Top Ten with "Bus Stop".
The Rolling Stones released "Brown Sugar"in the UK in 1971. It was the first record on their own label, Rolling Stones Records.
In 1972, the Electric Light Orchestra played its first live show, promoting their debut album, "No Answer". The concert didn't get very good reviews and founding member Roy Wood split several months later, leaving Jeff Lynne to write and produce most of the band's material.
Over 72,000 people gathered at London's Wembley Stadium in 1990 for an anti-apartheid concert honoring Nelson Mandela. Mandela had recently been released from prison.
In 1996, KISS appear in full make-up at the 38th Grammy Awards, where they use the opportunity to announce a reunion tour. It would mark the first time all four original members had appeared together in more than 15 years.
In 1999, Skip Spence, an original member of Jefferson Airplane and founding member of Moby Grape, died at age 52 of lung cancer in a San Francisco hospital. He had battled schizophrenia and alcoholism for more than 30 years.
born today: Dusty Springfield (1939) (died 2 March 2, 1999), Bobby Vinton (1935), 1964, Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum (1964) and Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil (1963)
Warner Bros. Records, the Leading Label Partner, Will Celebrate With Special RSD Events Around the Country; Expect Exclusive Vinyl Packages From My Chemical Romance, R.E.M., The Flaming Lips, Mastodon, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Regina Spektor and Much More
BURBANK, CA--(Marketwire - April 14, 2011) - Everyone's favorite new official global holiday, RECORD STORE DAY, is this Saturday, April 16, 2011. Once again Warner Bros. Records, the industry's leading partner and participant, will celebrate this special day with a spate of nationwide special events listed below.
Late breaking news: Neil Young, vinyl enthusiast and Independent Record Store supporter, will be introducing his brand new album, A TREASURE, as a deluxe vinyl edition available only through participating Record Store Day Independent Music Retailers and http://neilyoung.warnerreprise.com on June 7th. The limited-edition vinyl pressing will be available on 180-gram double-disc vinyl pressed at Pallas, and mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering by Chris Bellman. The fourth side of the vinyl will feature special album artwork etched into the disc.
And now, the WBR / RSD events:
REGINA SPEKTOR - Saturday, April 16th, 2pm:
Other Music - 15 E 4th St - New York, 10003 (212) 477-8150 www.othermusic.com
Special in-store performance at Other Music in NYC. First 100 fans to purchase RSD exclusive 7" "Four From Far" gain access to the performance.
Regina will also be participating in a "Live in London" screening that same night presented by RSD at the Lincoln Center. Adria Petty will also be in attendance as well. Tickets available at Walter Reade Theater box office or link below.
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - Saturday, April 16th, 4:30pm:
Vertigo Music - 129 Division Ave S Grand Rapids, MI 49503-4215 (616) 742-5106 http://www.vertigomusiconline.com/
In-store signing at Vertigo Music in Grand Rapids, MI. First 100 fans to purchase RSD exclusive 7" picture disc or a t-shirt will get a chance to meet the band.
DEFTONES - Saturday, April 16th, 2pm
Music Millennium - 3158 East Burnside Street Portland, OR 97214 (503) 231-8926 http://www.musicmillennium.com/
In-store signing at Music Millennium in Portland, OR. First 100 fans to purchase RSD exclusive "Covers" or "Diamond Eyes" will get a chance to meet the band.
RICK ROSS (MMG) - Saturday, April 16th, 2pm
Music Depot - Greenspoint Mall 12300 North Freeway Houston, TX 77060 (281) 876-0778
In-store signing event in Houston at Music Depot with Rick Ross and Meek Mill. The first 250 fans to pre-order MMG "Self Made" album or buy a MMG t-shirt get a chance to meet Rick Ross and Meek Mill.
ART OF DYING - April 16th, 2pm
Ralph's Records - 3322 82nd Street Lubbock, TX 79423-2011 (806) 795-3322
Acoustic performance + signing with Avalanche artists Skillet and Halestorm at Ralph's Records in Lubbock, TX. Purchase "Vices & Virtues" to meet the band.
FOXY SHAZAM - Saturday, April 16th, 9pm
Shake It Records - 4156 Hamilton Avenue # 1 Cincinnati, OH 45223 (513) 591-0123 www.shakeitrecords.com
Acoustic performance + signing at Shake It Records in Cincinnati, OH.
PETER BUCK (REM) - Saturday, April 16th, NOON
Easy Street Records - 20 Mercer Street Seattle, WA (206) 691-3279 easystreetonline.com
In-store autograph signing. Fans that purchase a copy of the R.E.M. RSD exclusive 7" "THREE" or "Collapse Into Now" will have a chance to meet Peter.
As previously announced, Warner Bros. Records will make a series of vinyl albums and singles available on April 16th exclusively in honor of Record Store Day -- a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. Warner Bros. Records is not only a partner in Record Store Day, but readies more vinyl for release than any other label. This year, we are outdoing ourselves with even more special releases to meet the demands of vinyl enthusiasts nationally and internationally as well. All items are available in very limited quantities and are sure to sell out fast, so don't delay!
And now... The Goods (in alphabetical order) as follows:
Bad Brains: God Of Love + bonus 7" (vinyl LP + two song 7" single)
For God Of Love, Bad Brains' first album for Madonna's label Maverick, the original lineup of the group reunited. Ric Ocasek, the producer of their breakthrough Rock For Light, also returned to produce the record. This release includes two previously unreleased demo tracks: "Let's Make Love" and "It's Agreeable" on a bonus 7" vinyl.
The Belle Brigade: The Belle Brigade (vinyl LP)
A chance to get an early copy of the self-titled debut album from brother and sister duo The Belle Brigade, fronted by Barbara and Ethan Gruska, before it's released digitally and on CD by Reprise Records on April 19th. Click on the provided link to hear "Sweet Louise" right now! http://sweetlouise.thebellebrigade.com/
Built To Spill: "Ripple" (7" picture disc) Very limited collector's edition is a picture disc and features only one track; a previously unreleased live version of the Grateful dead classic recorded live on October 11, 2010 in Charlotte, NC.
Eric Clapton: Unplugged (Two-disc set on 180-gram vinyl; Bernie Grundman Mastering)
Eric Clapton's Unplugged was responsible for making acoustic-based music, and "unplugged" albums in particular, a hot trend in the early '90s. Clapton's concert was not only one of the finest Unplugged episodes, but was also some of the most genuine, heartfelt music the guitarist has ever committed to tape. And some of his most popular: The album sold more than 10 million copies in the U.S. and won several Grammy Awards, including "Album Of The Year."
Deftones: Covers (vinyl LP) Truly a unique and eclectic collection of rare cover songs spanning multiple genres, none of which has ever been available on vinyl before and a fan essential.
Side A:
Drive (The Cars)
Caress (Drive Like Jehu)
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths)
No Ordinary Love (Sade)
Savory (Jawbox)
Do You Believe (The Cardigans)
Side B:
Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Ghosts (Japan)
The Chauffeur (Duran Duran)
If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Live) (The Cure)
Sleep Walk (Santo & Johnny)
The Flaming Lips: Heady Nuggs: The First 5 Warner Bros. Records 1992-2002 (5 vinyl LP's - Bernie Grundman Mastering)
(1992) Hit To Death In The Future Head (Single Disc)
(1993) Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (Single Disc)
(1995) Clouds Taste Metallic (Single Disc)
(1999) The Soft Bulletin (Two Disc)
(2002) Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (Single Disc)
All titles, with the exception of The Soft Bulletin, have been out of print and unavailable on vinyl for a decade. Each box will be limited and numbered to create the ultimate LIPS collectors item.
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours - Standard and Deluxe Editions (Bernie Grundman Mastering)
The Diamond Award Winning, Grammy "Album Of The Year" masterpiece from Fleetwood Mac is available as an Audiophile Deluxe Version pressed on 2-Disc 45 RPM, 180 gram vinyl (pressed At Pallas), as well as a standard 33 1/3 single disc.
Glassjaw: Worship And Tribute - considered a hardcore masterpiece, this long sought-after pressing will be available on vinyl for the first time ever vinyl pressing in a limited edition.
Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American - A special 10th Anniversary Limited edition 3-disc reissue of this seminal album featuring a disc of rarities and b-sides pressed on 140 gram vinyl (each one will be hand numbered with a gold foil stamp). There will also be a special run of colored vinyl made exclusive for the Zia Record Store Day tent at Coachella in support of their appearance at the festival.
Mastodon: Live At The Aragon (Deluxe 2-disc set on 180-gram vinyl + DVD; Bernie Grundman Mastering) - Vinyl edition of the first-ever live experience package from heavy rock innovators Mastodon captures the band's sonic assault recorded and filmed live in October 2009 at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom while the band was touring in support of Crack The Skye.
My Chemical Romance: "Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)" (7" picture disc)
The first single from the band's current album Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys, includes the previously unreleased "Zero Percent," on the B-side.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Limited Edition white vinyl), You're Gonna Get It! (Limited Edition blue vinyl); both Bernie Grundman Mastering. "Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers," the band's debut album, was originally released in 1976. The album is best known for introducing the world to the classic tracks "American Girl" and "Breakdown." "You're Gonna Get It!" Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' second album was released in 1978. Building on the edgy yet always melodic sonic template created on their debut, this album features the hits "Listen To Her Heart" and "I Need To Know" which remain staples in the classic rock songbook.
R.E.M.: Three (3 - 7" single 45 RPM discs, first three singles from their new album, Collapse Into Now, each in individual art gatefold sleeves. All B-sides are previously unreleased. Bernie Grundman Mastering)
Disc 1. Mine Smell Like Honey/ Supernatural Superserious (live in Raleigh, NC)
Disc 2. Oh My Heart/ Harborcoat (live in Riga, Latvia)
Disc 3. ÜBerlin/ What's the Frequency, Kenneth? (live in Oslo, Norway)
Regina Spektor: Regina will be releasing a Record Store Day Exclusive, Four From Far, on April 16! The Limited Edition EP will contain the digital exclusive "Riot Gear," "The Sword & the Pen" and "Time Is All Around" from far Special Edition, and "Eet" from Live in London, now compiled together on light blue vinyl.
Warner Bros. Records will launch "Side By Side" -- a series of extremely limited-edition 7" vinyl singles featuring iconic WB artists covering other historic and personally influential iconic WB family artists. Each title will be uniquely colored, and 100 of each pressing will be randomly available on clear vinyl. The first four singles listed below will be released on Record Store Day with more singles to be announced soon.
"Havana Affair" (Red Vinyl)
The Ramones
Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" (Orange Vinyl)
Hüsker Dü
Green Day
"Just Got Paid" (Yellow Vinyl)
ZZ Top
Mastodon
"Love Hurts" (Light-Blue Vinyl)
Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels Featuring Emmylou Harris
Jenny And Johnny
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Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD) Celebrates Independent Music Stores with 'Record Store Day' Releases
PRNewswire -- Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), the award-winning sales, marketing and distribution arm of Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, will release exclusive vinyl titles from some of its biggest artists in celebration of 'Record Store Day.' The annual event, which takes places on Saturday, April 16, celebrates the importance and vitality of the independent music store.
Artists in the program include such legendary groups as Derek & The Dominos, The Cars, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Paul Simon and Duran Duran, as well as such new chart-toppers as Lady Gaga and James Blake. Fontana, the independent distribution arm of UMGD, will also release titles from artists including New York Dolls and Robbie Robertson.
Moreover, a number of UMG artists will participate directly in Record Store Day with in-store performances, in-store signings and Q&A sessions. Among them are Duran Duran (Amoeba signing in San Francisco), Erykah Badu (Coachella/Zia Signing), The Lonely Island (Amoeba Berkeley, Q&A session and signing), Nas & Damien Marley (Coachella/ Zia Signing) and, TV on the Radio (Newbury Comics in Boston).
'Record Store Day' began in 2007 as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding independently owned records stores in the US, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. On this day, independently-owned records stores come together with artists and labels to celebrate music with special releases and promotional products and events.
List of 'Record Store Day' releases (vinyl except where noted*):
The Cars – "Sad Song" – 7" single
Matt Costa – Songs We Sing LP
Dengue Fever – Cannibal Courtship LP
Derek & The Dominos – "Got To Get Better In A Little While" / "Layla" – Limited edition US pressing of 2500, 7" single
Duran Duran - "Girl Panic" - 7" single
Hollywood Undead – American Tragedy – 12" picture Disc
James Blake – James Blake – 2 LP set with 2 exclusive bonus tracks
Lady Gaga – "Born This Way" – Remix EP, limited 5K pressing, 12" Picture Disc
Mona – "Listen To Your Love" / "All This Time"- 7" single
The Naked And Famous* – This Machine / No Light, EP CD of early material
Nirvana – Hormoaning – colored vinyl EP, limited 6K worldwide pressing, first time available in the US
Paul Simon – So Beautiful Or So What LP
Sonic Youth – Whores Moaning - colored vinyl EP, limited 6K worldwide pressing, first time available in the US
Queen – "Keep Yourself Alive" – 7" single
Nathaniel Rateliff – "Shroud" – 7" single
The Rolling Stones – "Brown Sugar" / "Bitch" / "Let It Rock"- individually numbered 5K US pressing, 7" single
Daft Punk – Tron Soundtrack - 10" EP, includes bonus track
Fontana titles:
Duff McKagan's Loaded – The Taking LP
Fistful of Mercy – "Pale Blue Eyes / "Things Go 'Round" – 12" vinyl, includes exclusive tracks
New York Dolls – Dancing Backward In High Heels LP
New York Dolls – "Fool For You Baby" - 7" single
Robbie Robertson – How To Be Clairvoyant - 2 LP
Toadies – "No Deliverance" / "Someone Great" - 7" single
About Universal Music Group Distribution
Universal Music Group Distribution is a division of Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry's leading global music publishing operation.
Universal Music Group's record labels include A&M/Octone, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Polydor Records, Show Dog – Universal Music, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalogue is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; and Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division.
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.
SOURCE Universal Music Group
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in alabama, a vinyl celebration!
A day to celebrate a groove
PUMP UP THE VOLUME FOR NATIONAL RECORD STORE DAY
By Courtney Haden
If April 16 were National Refrigerator Store Day or National Radiator Store, this piece would take a radical turn toward the esoteric, but because it’s National Record Store Day, we shall stick to the mundanely arcane.
Record Store Day is a refreshingly straightforward commercial observance, celebrated in honor of those independently owned shops still hawking pre-recorded music and in hopes that you will patronize same. The international festival has roots in Birmingham, in that our own Don Van Cleave, once of Magic Platter, was one of its founders, and it has sturdy branches here, in that Birmingham, unlike many larger metropoli, has two first-rate record stores still extant
Vinyl junkies in Memphis can get their fix Saturday as local record shop Spin Street Music, Shangri-La Records and Goner Records celebrate the third annual Record Store Day by throwing parties, staging shows and selling limited edition records.
What started out in 2007 as an idea to unify independent record stores has turned into a national event, with more than 700 record stores nationwide participating. Goner records employee Madison Farmer insisted Record Day is much more than just a sales pitch.
"People find joy in buying records for all sorts of reasons, but Record Store Day has definitely helped make buying a record a much more engaging experience," Farmer said.
Independent music stores celebrate the old-school format
By Rashod Ollison The Virginian-Pilot
After weeks of buildup on the Internet, it will all be over in about half an hour.
Record Store Day, a celebration of vinyl planned for Saturday, has for the past three years attracted the most diligent record collectors to Birdland Music in Virginia Beach.
There, they will find limited copies of new and old albums in a format that must be played on a turntable.
“You have the collector who wants to buy the record but never opens it and ends up putting it on eBay,” said Barry Friedman, the store’s manager. “And you have the fan who’s gonna tear it right open and put it on the turntable right away. I open the door at 10. By 10:30, most of the new vinyl is gone.”
The idea of Record Store Day, conceived by a group of independent music store owners in 2007, is more than just a throwback. In an age of dismal sales and an increasingly fragmented music industry, it also is a promotional effort by record labels.
You can look at the numbers many different ways. In 2010, overall album sales were down 13 percent, Nielsen SoundScan reported in January — but sales of vinyl records were up 14 percent. That’s the best sales record for the classic LP since 1991.
Then again, vinyl counts for less than 1 percent of that overall annual figure. Plus, vinyl’s increase was 89 percent in 2008 and 33 percent in 2009 — so the resurgence is losing steam.
The cresting wave, though, is enough to keep the lights on and the turntables spinning at Chicago record shops, many of which now focus sales on vinyl records rather than CDs — and most of which are hosting special sales and events Saturday on the occasion of an annual hipster holiday, Record Store Day.
For rock trio Rush, Cleveland is where it all began
By John Soeder, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer
It's the greatest rock 'n' roll love story ever told. Rush ♥ Cleveland. And from the very beginning, the feeling has been mutual.
In the mid-1970s, our fair city was the first American market to embrace this cerebral power trio from Toronto.
"It was enormous for us," singer-bassist Geddy Lee said of the early support.
As a token of their undying appreciation, Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart are filming their concert tonight at The Q for a future DVD release.
Wilco and Elvis Costello Pay Tribute to Neil Young
Ellen Barnes
Last year’s MusiCares concert featuring all-star covers of Neil Young’s songs will be released on DVD and Blu-ray by Shout! Factory on May 31. MusiCares honored Young with the title of Person of the Year last year, fêting his career with a tribute performance by artists like Elton John, Wilco, Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, and Crosby, Stills & Nash
the irishtimes has a neat article about the physical world of music:
Let's get physical: the fight against files
Though CDs remain the most popular format for music buyers, the plastic disc is in decline, under threat from downloads both legal and otherwise. Some artists, labels and retailers are beginning a fightback against the threat to physical music releases with innovative new formats and ideas – including USB keys and album badges. LAUREN MURPHY reports
IT’S BEEN a while since Jon Bon Jovi was described as anything close to a spokesman of a generation, but his recent denunciation of download culture resonated more vociferously than expected with music fans of a certain vintage.
You could argue that the rocker is being more than a little excitable with his dramatic statement that “Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business”, but in many ways he has a point. Although CDs remain the most popular format for music buyers, their value has been diminished by the convenience of MP3s, not to mention illegal downloads.
Nevertheless there are bands, companies and music fans still doing everything within their power to stay connected to the physical world.
In 1956, Mitch Miller, music director of Columbia Records, engages in a spirited debate with Allan Freed over the "potentially negative effects of Rock 'n' Roll on teenagers" on Eric Sevareid's news program on CBS-TV. Two psychiatrists also joined the discussion.
Buffalo Springfield made their live debut in 1966 opening for The Byrds at a concert in San Bernardino, California.
Also in 1966, the Rolling Stones released "Aftermath", their first LP to feature all original material.
In 1972, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen entered the Billboard Top 40 for the first and only time with "Hot Rod Lincoln", a re-worked version of "Hot Rod Race", a #29 hit for Tiny Hill in 1951.
Also in 1972, Roberta Flack started a six-week run at #1 on the U.S. singles chart with the Ewan MacColl song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (#14 in the UK). The song was featured in the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty For Me.
In 1992, the three surviving members of Queen raised over $15 million at a charity concert in memory of the late Freddie Mercury, who died in November, 1991. They were joined by David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Elton John, Guns N' Roses, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, Paul Young and others.
In 1996, in San Francisco, CA, Jerry Garcia's remaining ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge. A small portion of his ashes had been scattered in the Ganges River in India on April 4th.
In 2001, punk pioneer Joey Ramone, singer of The Ramones, died at age 49 after losing a long battle with lymphatic cancer. On November 30, 2003, a block of East 2nd Street in New York City was officially renamed Joey Ramone Place.
In 2005, John Fred Gourrier, who led John Fred and his Playboy Band to Billboard's #1 spot in December 1967 with "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)", died after a long bout with kidney disease. He was 63.
In 2007, Legendary crooner Don Ho, who entertained Hawaiian tourists for decades wearing raspberry-tinted sunglasses and singing his catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles", died of heart failure. He was 76.
born today, country icon Roy Clark (1933), Allan Clarke from the Hollies (1942), Dave Edmunds (1944) and Ed O’Brien from Radiohead (1968) among others.
in my area (actually about 40 miles from my house), RSD is a celebration of vinyl!
Spin on record day is that vinyl is still vital
Record Store Day will celebrate at 700-plus independent record stores across the country, including Milwaukee area
By Piet Levy, Special to the Journal Sentinel
It's no secret that music sales are struggling: The digital revolution has shaken the foundations of the music industry. According to Nielsen SoundScan, album revenue for the year ending Jan. 2 dropped 12.8%.
Yet brick-and-mortar record stores haven't completely lost relevance. Vinyl sales increased by 14% last year.
And national Record Store Day, which celebrates its fourth consecutive year on Saturday, will draw music aficionados to 700-plus independent record stores across the country, enticed by hundreds of events and exclusive releases of singles, albums, DVDs from cult favorites to chart-topping artists.
"It brings record stores to the front of people's minds," said Stephanie Huff, general manager of the Exclusive Company, an eight-unit record store chain with three area locations. "It's actually bigger than any day prior to Christmas for our chain."
The event began in 2007 as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding more than 700 independently owned record stores in the United States and hundreds of similar stores internationally. For Irv Lukin, the owner of EZ2 Collect, 35-10 Broadway, Fair Lawn, it represents the single biggest day of sales for the entire year.
"I have accumulated records over the course of 40 years," said Lukin. "If you are looking for something special, you're not going to find the treasures in my collection at Best Buy or anywhere else."
and in the nw corner of our land, RSD newbie talks about vinyl
Another Seattle Record (Store)
Love and idealism have kept Mossy Bottom afloat long enough to see its first Record Store Day.
By Andrew Gospe
With physical sales of albums declining as fast as ever, opening a new record store these days makes about as much sense as trying to soak up some rare rays of Seattle sunshine to power your house. So it's only fitting that when Nick Gorfkle was searching for a space for Mossy Bottom Records, he decided to move next to a start-up company in the U District that sells solar panels.
If it seems like a bad omen, Gorfkle begs to differ. A longtime Seattleite and veteran of record stores like Golden Oldies and Neptune, Gorfkle, 27, subscribes to the ethos that selling vinyl is about far more than profits, an attitude forged from both nostalgia and necessity.
Record Store Day preview: Bloodshot Records' Rob Miller
by Marah Eakin
It should come as no surprise to most music consumers—or at least to the hip ones—that Record Store Day is kind of a big deal. With over 300 exclusive releases, countless in-store performances nation-wide, and tons of stickers and swag dumped on checkout counters, there’s a lot of money invested in this once a year event, if nothing else. For indie retailers and labels, though, it can make a big difference in their bottom line.
As Record Store Day looms—Saturday, April 16 this year—The A.V. Club thought it wise to check in with local labels and retailers to find out what they’re planning for this special event. Next up, Rob Miller, co-owner of Bloodshot Records.
and in the land down under, vinyl is a hit all year round!
Viva la vinyl purveyors
Mary Mihelakos
MUSICIANS will play free, in-stores, exclusive releases will be available, there will be store-wide discounts and celebrities will work behind counters tomorrow to celebrate Record Store Day.
It started in the US in 2007 and Australian stores have been participating since 2008. Record Store Day falls on the third Saturday in April and music outlets around the world take part (Ozzy Osbourne is this year's event ambassador).
More than a decade ago, it looked as though vinyl had been superseded by the compact disc but the format is enjoying a renewed popularity. The vinyl revival has undoubtedly been inspired by the dullness of downloading and the facelessness and disconnection of listening to music on an MP3 player.
Melbourne boasts one of the highest numbers of record stores per head of population worldwide.
Record Store Day celebrates unique culture of independent shops
by Dave Paulson
They still make records? Why?”
Doyle Davis, co-owner of Grimey’s New and Preloved Music, says people who stumble upon his Nashville record store ask that question all the time. On Saturday, April 16, four Nashville record stores aim to provide the answer as they take part in the fourth annual Record Store Day, which celebrates more than 700 independent record stores operating in the U.S. with in-store concerts, sales and limited-edition music releases.
“In the age of digital downloads, it’s good to remind people that we still exist,” says John Moore, who runs the Groove in East Nashville with Louis Charette
National Record Store Day gets local play at Village Green Records
VGR to host concert with area bands, musicians
By Seth Johnson
Celebrating independent record stores throughout the nation, Muncie's Village Green Records will join in the National Record Store Day festivities, welcoming In the Face of War for its final Muncie performance.
Chad Kelham, a 2005 Ball State sociology and history graduate, is thankful for the enriching opportunities that stores such as VGR have offered him.
"Nothing compares to the thrill of going to any given independent record store and discovering some truly amazing and life-changing music," he said. "If it weren't for my favorite independent record stores, Village Green Records, Indy CD & Vinyl and any of the Wooden Nickel record stores in Fort Wayne, I wouldn't have become the dedicated and adventurous music lover that I am today, that's for sure."
On Saturday, record stores will celebrate their independence, offering customers free performances and exclusive music releases. In its third year of celebration, Village Green Records has organized a full slate of local performers
and in pennsylvania, bring in an iconic album cover artist can't hurt!
The Art of Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa record cover artist Cal Schenkel joins the Record Store Day celebrations at Gold Million Records, in Bryn Mawr, Pa. on Saturday April 16, 2011, with a unique gallery exhibit.
Meet and greet Frank Zappa artist extraordinaire Cal Schenkel. The renowned designer of album covers for Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits will be exhibiting at Gold Million Records in Bryn Mawr, Pa. from 12:00PM to 4:00PM on Record Store Day, Saturday April 16, 2011. Cal will be signing LP records, giclée prints, and original art works featuring:
☞ Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Trout Mask Replica
The Grand Wazoo
Just Another Band From L.A.
Uncle Meat
One Size Fits All
Record Store Day, now in its fourth year, celebrates the art of music with special appearances, performances, meet and greets, art exhibits, and special vinyl releases for the nearly 1000 independently owned record stores around the world.
Gold Million Records (formerly Plastic Fantastic since 1976) is Philadelphia magazine’s Best of Philly® 2010 - Best Store for Music Lovers. Part gallery, part museum, and part record store, the unique Gold Million emporium features Records, Record Players, and Cool Stuff Made From Records.
So come celebrate and support Record Store Day at Gold Million Records, where Rock 'n Roll meets Louis XIV. Buy some records to play or buy some to display, and get a free record frame with any FZ LP purchase.
Ozzy Osbourne spins a case for vinyl on Record Store Day
By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY
Since 1970, Ozzy Osbourne has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, roughly half with heavy metal's pioneering Black Sabbath and the rest as a solo artist. Loads of those early headbanger discs were vinyl, a format Osbourne still favors.
So he's an appropriate choice for Record Store Day ambassador, even if he's unsure of the title's obligations.
"I'm very honored," he says. "I just wish I could find a record store."
Eastbrook Flea Market to hold inaugural 'Record Store Day'
Written by Teri Greene
Vinyl is making a big-time comeback, and nobody knows that more than Jim Pruett, who has sold thousands of records from his booth at Eastbrook Flea Market and Antique Mall on Coliseum Boulevard.
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday inside Eastbrook, Pruett, along with a group of fellow record enthusiasts, will host Montgomery's first "Record Store Day," a day set aside nationally to celebrate the glory of vinyl records.
Pruett said since he began selling records five years ago, he's witnessed vinyl's resurgence firsthand. And the fans are coming from unexpected places
WHILE downloading is a very ‘now’ thing to do, there are legions of music buyers who will still say that there is nothing like queuing up on the day of release, with a brand new vinyl disc clutched in hand.
They sound better and they look better than their smaller CD counterparts too...
And on Saturday, Record Store Day once again celebrates the beauty of the groove...
How sad that in a city the size of Milton Keynes, there is no dedicated vinyl store. But in Northampton, Spunout will be flying the flag for vinyl, and partaking in the special day.
"…And if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends," Almost Famous' Penny Lane said. For years, records had been the foundation of music present in pop culture and teens' bedrooms. As of present day, they have been drowned out as a museum idea with a vintage stigma.
Record Store Day, which has been going on since 2007, is a way for independent record stores across the country to come together. Eric Levin, a founder of RSD and owner of Criminal Records in Georgia, said the idea for RSD came from a convention in Baltimore, Md. called Noise in the Basement.
"We grew tired of constantly being the butt of the joke, know-nothing editors reporting from their ivory towers that the death of the record store was imminent," Levin said. "We kind of asked each other, 'How you doing? Is your death imminent?' Since we all had kind of super awesome record stores, centers of our communities, paying taxes, hiring and insuring musicians, we felt like we had to stand up for ourselves."
Local stores like Slackers in Glen Carbon and Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis are participating in the newfound tradition.
The front cover of the upcoming reissue of "Kaddish", the cult 1994 album from Israeli death metal pioneers SALEM, can be viewed below. Due next week via Raven Music, the cover art and design was handled by the band's guitarist, Nir Gutraiman. The effort was remastered by UE Nastasi at Sterling Sound in New York City.
Originally released through Germany's Morbid Records and was distributed worldwide via SPV, "Kaddish" represents SALEM's personal dirge for the victims of the Holocaust during World War II.
WILLIAM Shatner's new album is a return to his Star Trek roots, featuring nineteen space-themed tracks on the metal covers album.
The actor's latest musical project, Searching For Major Tom, will include covers of songs by Deep Purple, U2, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, David Bowie, Queen, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran and The Police.
The album will be comprised of 'interpretations' of the intergalactic-themed rock anthems including Rocket Man, Space Oddity, Walking on The Moon and Lost in The Stars.
Have a couple hundred grand sitting around? You could own a piece of history as the original handwritten lyrics of The Beatles Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, written by John Lennon, will be auctioned next month.
Sam Roderick remembers the first time she became interested in vinyl records.
She was 12 years old, and her mother missed the vinyl collection she had replaced with cassette tapes years earlier. Every so often, the two would go to flea markets, scouring the aisles of furniture and tables of books, jewelry and other odds and ends, searching for musical treasures.
Eventually Roderick bought a record of her own — Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues."
Now, the sophomore and Japanese major has more than 100 records in her collection.
Tom Hanks to Produce Green Day’s American Idiot Movie
Anne Erickson
After months of rumors and speculation, Green Day’s 2004 album, American Idiot, has been given the go-ahead to be made into a big-screen, feature film.
Universal has officially signed Tom Hanks to produce the upcoming adaptation in partnership with Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool, said Reuters.
In 1966, the Beatles recorded "Paperback Writer" and the vocals for "Eleanor Rigby."
In 1967, Polydor Records released the Bee Gees’ “New York Mining Disaster 1941” with a promotional slogan declaring them “the most significant talent since The Beatles.” The record became a Top 20 hit in the U.K. and U.S.
The final "Where the Action Is" aired on ABC-TV in 1967.
In 1969, The Beatles’ recording of “The Ballad of John and Yoko” took place with just two members, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Paul played bass, drums and piano with John on guitars and lead vocals. The song was banned from many radio stations as being blasphemous on account of the use of the word, “Christ.”
In 1971, the Illinois Crime Commission issued a list of “drug-oriented records,” including “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum and The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
In 1973, Led Zeppelin started a two-week run on the top of the U.K. album chart with Houses of the Holy, also a #1 in the U.S. The young girl, featured on the cover of the album climbing naked up Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, was six-year-old Samantha Gates.
Iron Maiden's self-titled debut album was released in 1980.
In 1986, at the height of the backwards-masking hysteria, evangelist Jim Brown claimed that the theme to the children’s TV show, Mr. Ed, contained hidden Satanic messages.
In 1994, Kurt Cobain was cremated at the Bleitz Funeral Home in Seattle. The death certificate listed Cobain’s occupation as “Poet/Musician” and his type of business as “Punk Rock.”
In 1995, Burl Ives, who reached the US Top 40 with "Little Bitty Tear" (#9), "Funny Way Of Laughing" (#10) and "Call Me Mr. In-Between" (#19) as well as recording the Christmas classic "Holly, Jolly Christmas", died of cancer at the age of 85.
In 2005, Steve Jablecki, singer and guitarist for the L.A. group, Wadsworth Mansion, who reached #7 in the US with "Sweet Mary" in 1971, died at the age of 59.
happy birthday to Ritchie Blackmore, guitarist, Deep Purple, Rainbow (1945)
