Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

ALICE COOPER's 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare': First-Week Sales, Chart Position Revealed

"Welcome 2 My Nightmare", the new album from legendary rocker Alice Cooper, sold 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart. Cooper's previous CD, 2008's "Along Came A Spider", opened with just under 10,000 copies to debut at No. 53.

Recorded with longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, who produced the original multi-platinum "Welcome To My Nightmare" album in 1975, "Welcome 2 My Nightmare" picks up right where they left off, with Alice trapped in his own warped mind.

Read the rest at Blabbermouth





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Lou Reed and Metallica's 'Lulu' poster banned by London Underground

Apparently, London Underground have banned promo posters for Lou Reed and Metallica's upcoming collaboration LP 'Lulu' from being displayed in stations. Transport For London bosses made the decision not to allow the image on tubes or in stations after a spokesperson claimed it looked too much like graffiti.

The album cover features a limbless mannequin with a realistic expression on a photograph and the album name 'Lulu' written across it.

get over it, it's an album cover!

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Evanescence Announce Tracklist For New Album

Evanescence have revealed the tracklisting for their third studio album, which is self-titled.

The album, which is the follow-up to the band's 2007 second album 'The Open Door', will be released formally on October 10, with a single 'What You Want' out now. The LP is 12 tracks in total, with 'What You Want' acting as the opener and 'The Other Side', which the band have also previewed online, track number five.

Tracklist

'What You Want'
'Made Of Stone'
'The Change'
'My Heart Is Broken'
'The Other Side'
'Erase This'
'Lost In Paradise'
'Sick'
'End Of The Dream'
'Oceans'
'Never Go Back'
'Swimming Home'

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metalunderground.com has a fantastic article about the ever evolving ways to get music to the masses

When Social Media Overshadows the Music: A Message from a Serial Social Network Offender

by Joe Reviled

Underground metal bands in these modern Net-centric times of ours are utterly awash in the offal of social networking-cum-marketing options. With Facebook increasingly rising to the forefront as the anchor site of choice for both established and up and coming acts, there is also Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, ReverbNation, StereoKiller, BandCamp, SoundCloud, PureVolume, Last.FM and the smoldering wreckage of the once dominant empire that is Myspace, just to name a few of the major players. Put all of them together, and that’s eleven separate websites, some of which can by synced together, mind you, that a single band potentially needs to constantly maintain and update—an even dozen if they actually have their own domain.

Read the rest at metalunderground.com

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Neil Young Releasing Autobiography Next Year

By Andy Greene

Neil Young is the latest A-list rock star to decide to write a memoir: His book Waging Heavy Peace will hit shelves in the fall of 2012. "I felt like writing books fit me like a glove," Young said in a statement.

Read the rest at rollingstone.com

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The Misfits Announce New Album 'The Devil's Rain' To Be Released November 7th 2011

The Misfits return with their long awaited, first full-length release of all-new, original material in nearly a decade! Rooted in the horror and sci-fi themes fiends crave, "The Devil's Rain" showcases 16 fiendish, soon-to-be Misfits classics including "Twilight of the Dead", "Dark Shadows", "Curse of the Mummy's Hand" and the title track itself, "The Devil's Rain". Produced by Ed Stasium, (who's credits include the Ramones' "Road to Ruin" and "Too Tough to Die", as well as the Misfits' 1999 release "Famous Monsters"), the album showcases a jaw-dropping, two-panel front/back cover painting featuring the rebirth of the band's iconic "Fiend" mascot in an epic setting rendered by Arthur Suydam (known for his immensely popular work on the Marvel Zombies series, among others). The packaging, designed to emulate a CD sized gatefold LP, also features some incredible new Misfits portraits shot by the legendary Mick Rock. Rock's imagery (which includes Bowie, Iggy, Queen, Debbie Harry, and the Ramones to name a few), has become part of the very fabric of rock 'n' roll. Having also served as an on-set photographer for cult-movie classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", Rock lends a perfectly suited eye to view the band's surrealistic and highly theatrical persona. "The Devil's Rain" is not just a continuation of a historic legacy, it's a total reboot ushering in a new era of terror. In a sense, it's the debut album from the legendary Misfits of this decade. From fans of their classics, to newcomers discovering the band for the very first time, "The Devil's Rain" sets the bar, and redefines the ferocity and melody that has made the Misfits omnipresent and immortal.

First press Ltd. Deluxe Edition CD digipak includes an exclusive 9.5” x 14” two-sided poster featuring the incredible cover art by Arthur Suydam (treated with Glow-In-The-Dark ink!), plus a fantastic new band portrait by legendary photographer Mick Rock on the reverse.

Pre-order now @ Misfits Records online and receive a free, instant MP3 Download of the single “Twilight of the Dead” to draw first blood from the upcoming album.

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local story out of houston, texas...it's great to see another vinyl rcord store opening!

Heights Vinyl Prepares To Plant Its Flag

By Marc Brubaker

​Houston vinyl enthusiasts will soon have a new spot to score their drug of choice. Avid collectors may have come across notices advertising a "Big Pre-Opening 45 Sale" for a mysterious locale known as Heights Vinyl, set for this Saturday. The shop itself won't be open until November, but the ad promises thousands of unpicked 45s to be set out between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Rocks Off managed to track down Craig Brown, proprietor of the soon-to-be record store on White Oak, to learn a bit more about his plans - and the boxes upon boxes of singles set to hit the street Saturday morning.

Read the rest of the story at blogs.houstonpress.com

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GRIMEY'S BEST SELLERS 9/12 - 9/18, 2011

Top 25 Vinyl:

1. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
2. St Vincent - Strange Mercy
3. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
4. Beirut - The Rip Tide
5. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
6. Wooden Shjips - West
7. Primus - Green Naugahyde
9. Nick Lowe - The Old Magic
10. Neon Indian - Era Extrana
11. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
12. The Flaming Lips w/ Lightning Bolt - I'm Working At NASA On Acid 12"
13. Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing
14. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
15. Neon Indian - Fallout 7"
16. TV On The Radio - World Cafe Live
17. Mates Of State - Mountaintops
18. Hands Off Cuba - Volumes Of Sobering Liquids
19. T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Walker
20. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Carolina Chocolate Drops / Luminescent Orchestrii 10"
21. The Grateful Dead - American Beauty
22. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
23. The Ettes - No Home 7"
24. Mogwai - Earth Division
25. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know

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yet another slideshow of banned and controversial album cover art:

X-rated: Banned album covers!

From Kanye West to Bon Jovi to The Beatles - heaps of artists have tried to release albums with artwork deemed too racy for the eyes of innocent music fans.

See the slide show at music.ninemsn.com.au











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and in music history for today:

In 1955, the Platters' "Only You" enters the Billboard Pop chart at #24 on its way to becoming a million selling, US number one hit. The song would also become the first record to sell more than a million copies in France.

In 1956, Pittsburgh city officials barred Elvis Presley from Syria Mosque, except for one previously scheduled show, because of the damage done to the auditorium by teenage audiences.

In 1957, Scotty Moore and Bill Black quit Elvis Presley's backup band in a salary dispute with Colonel Tom Parker. Drummer D.J. Fontana stays on. Black went on to form Bill Black's Combo and placed eight songs in the US Top 30 before his death in 1965.

In 1959, "Sleep Walk" by Santo and Johnny becomes Billboard's number one record. In the UK, more than 20 cover versions flooded the air waves and held the Farina brothers' version to number 22.

In 1962, a song called "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" by The Springfields became the first British record to crack the US Top 20. The vocal group was made up of Tim Field, Tom Springfield and his sister Dusty, who would go on to have her own solo hits like "I Only Want To Be With You".

In 1963, Bobby Vinton's second Top Ten entry, a cover of Tony Bennett's 1951 hit, "Blue Velvet", climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It was a song that Bobby recorded in two takes as a filler for an album of all "blue" songs. Session musicians on the track included Floyd Cramer ("Last Date") and Boots Randolph ("Yakety Sax").

It was rare that a Country tune could top the Billboard Pop chart, but Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley P.T.A." did just that in 1968. The record sold over 1,750,000 copies in the first two weeks after its release. Although she never cracked the top 50 on the Pop chart again, Riley went on to have several big Country hits.

Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" was released in the US in 1968 where will become his only Top 40 hit single, topping out at number 20. Hendrix had been working on and off with the members of the band Traffic as he recorded Electric Ladyland. Traffic guitarist Dave Mason caught Hendrix at a party and the two discussed Bob Dylan's newest album, John Wesley Harding, containing "All Along The Watchtower." Hendrix, long fascinated with Dylan, decided to cover the song on the album. On the resulting track, Mason plays rhythm on a 12-string acoustic guitar.This was recorded while Hendrix played with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: Hendrix on guitar, Noel Redding on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums. For this song, however, Redding was not on bass; Hendrix did it. Redding was also the guitar player for his band Fat Mattress, which Hendrix referred to as Thin Pillow. Hendrix often felt that Redding did not put his heart into the bass and was concerned that Redding concentrated more on Fat Mattress than he did on the Experience. Things like these led to him being replaced by Billy Cox. Hendrix: "All those people who don't like Bob Dylan's songs should read his lyrics. They are filled with the joys and sadness of life. I am as Dylan, none of us can sing normally. Sometimes, I play Dylan's songs and they are so much like me that it seems to me that I wrote them. I have the feeling that Watchtower is a song I could have come up with, but I'm sure I would never have finished it. Thinking about Dylan, I often consider that I'd never be able to write the words he manages to come up with, but I'd like him to help me, because I have loads of songs I can't finish. I just lay a few words on the paper, and I just can't go forward. But now things are getting better, I'm a bit more self-confident."



In 1968, the Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions" entered the Billboard Pop chart where it will peak at #5, becoming their most successful record.

In 1972, ABC-TV debuted "In Concert." Alice Cooper appeared in the first episode. loved to stay up and watch it, they had some great guests!!!

In 1974, BTO released "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet." Randy Bachman didn't intend to release this with the stuttering vocal. He sang it with the stutter to make fun his brother, Gary, who had a speech impediment. During microphone checks, he would sing it with the stutter and recorded a version that was to give to Gary. His record company liked it a lot better than the non-stuttering version, so that's the one they released. Eventually, Gary stopped stuttering. Since they didn't think this take was going to be released, they considered it a scratch track to get the sound correct in the studio. The band didn't even tune their instruments for it. It was released while they were on tour and later had to be remastered to hide the fact that the instruments were not in tune



Also in 1974, at 300 pounds, he didn't look like a Rock star, but Barry White scored his first US number one and second of five Top Ten singles with "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe".

In 1974, Walter Brennan, a well known actor who reached number five on the Hot 100 in 1962 with a spoken word hit called "Old Rivers", died at the age of 80.

In 1980, during a North American tour, Bob Marley collapsed while jogging in New York’s Central Park. After hospital tests, he was diagnosed as having cancer. Marley played his last-ever concert two nights later at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


In 1986, the National Inquirer magazine featured a picture of Michael Jackson in an oxygen chamber with a story claiming that Jackson had a bizarre plan to live until he was 150 years old. Jackson refuted the story, saying the picture of him was taken in a burn victim machine that he donated to the Brotman Memorial Hospital.

In 1987, American jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius died from injuries sustained in a fight. Pastorius was trying to enter the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida, (where he’d been banned), and became involved in a fight with a bouncer. Pastorius fell into a coma and was put on life support. In 2006, Pastorius was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived” by readers in Bass Guitar magazine. He was a member of Weather Report and worked with various acts including Joni Mitchell and Herbie Hancock.

The Bangles broke up in 1989.

In 1998, Oz Bach, bassist for Spanky and Our Gang on their 1967 hit, "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" died of cancer at the age of 59.

In 2000, the Guess Who teamed up with Lenny Kravitz at the Much Music Video awards in Toronto to perform "American Woman". Kravitz had recorded the Randy Bachman / Burton Cummings tune for the soundtrack to Mike Myers' The Spy Who Shagged Me nearly thirty years after the original became The Guess Who's biggest hit.

In 2001, America: A Tribute to Heroes, a commercial-free, live TV program was broadcast on all of the major US TV networks to raise money following the September 11th terrorist attacks. The show featured performances by Bruce Springsteen ("My City in Ruins"), Tom Petty ("I Won't Back Down"), Paul Simon ("Bridge Over Troubled Water"), Billy Joel ("New York State of Mind"), U2 ("Walk On"), Celine Dion ("God Bless America") and Willie Nelson ("America The Beautiful"). Accepting pledges over the telephone were Robin Williams, Meg Ryan, Danny DeVito, Sally Field, Jack Nicholson, Goldie Hawn, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kurt Russell, Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Whoopi Goldberg and many more. The broadcast and soundtrack album helped raise over $128 million for the victims and their families.

In 2002, Farm Aid '02 was held in Burgettstown, PA with Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Keith Urban, Lee Ann Womack, Kid Rock, Gillian Welch, Kenny Wayne Shepherd with Double Trouble, The Drive-By Truckers, Los Lonely Boys and Anthony Smith

In 2004, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) was denied entrance into the U.S. when his name turned up on an anti-terrorist watch list.

In 2006, Boz Burrell, bass guitarist known for his involvement in King Crimson and Bad Company, died following a heart attack at the age of 60.

birthdays today include (among others): Leonard Cohen (77), Don Felder (Eagles) (64), Phil Taylor (Motorhead) (52), Faith Hill (44), Liam Gallagher (Oasis) (39), David Silveria (Korn) (39) & Tyler Stewart (Barenaked Ladies) (44)

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