very good vinyl record article write up north of our border:
ENT cover story: Records still on a roll
By LAURA STRADIOTTO, FOR THE SUDBURY STAR
Almost four decades ago, Tony Anselmo rolled into Sudbury with his record store on wheels.
Paul McCartney and Wings' Band on the Run was the hottest selling vinyl album and Anselmo smiled as people boarded his bus parked where the Farmers Market presently stands.
Overhead was low. It was only Anselmo on the payroll and his rent was the daily parking fee.
Records on Wheels is the only independent music store left in Northern Ontario (although there are stores that specialize in vinyl.)
Even the bigger chains have come and gone. Sam The Record Man and Music World went bankrupt and now HMV is closing stores, including its flagship location in Vancouver come January 2012. The mega company, like most record stores, is struggling to keep afloat in the new digital era.
Anselmo moved with the trends although he didn't like them too much. When CDs replaced cassette tapes, he grumbled, but sold what the customer wanted.
The way people buy music has dramatically changed in the 37 or so years Anselmo has been in business. ITunes and downloading songs have a tremendous impact on CD sales.
"The Internet has killed this industry," he said in his Elm Street store early this week.
So, why has Anselmo stuck around for so long?
Read the rest at
thesudburystar.com
=============
Amos Lee To Release New EP
Amos Lee has recently announced the release of 'As The Crow Flies,' featuring six previously unheard songs as a CD, digital, and
10"-vinyl EP, on February 14th, 2012. The songs were recorded during the sessions for Lee's critically acclaimed album Mission Bell, which was produced by Calexico frontman and multi-instrumentalist Joey Burns. The tracks on As The Crow Flies are also produced by Burns and feature musical backing by Burns and Calexico drummer John Convertino.
Ttracklist:
"The Darkness"
"Simple Things"
"Say Goodbye"
"May I Remind You"
"Mama Sail To Me"
"There I Go Again"
=============
New Documentary on Alice Cooper Coming in 2012
The man who made the documentaries Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Iron Maiden: Flight 666 and Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is turning his sights on classic rocker Alice Cooper.
Sam Dunn, whose latest project is the multi-part Metal Evolution, currently showing on VH1 Classic, talked to Spinner about all his films and why he's working on a Cooper doc.
Read more at our friends at
vintagevinylnews.com
=============
i have never seen these covers, but i certainly love the style!
Leif Podhajsky’s Psychedelic Art & Album Covers
Leif Podhajsky is an artist and creative director who makes astounding album covers for numerous labels including Warp Records, Sub Pop, Sony, Warner, Atlantic and others.
Look at more covers at
thisiscolossal.com
=============
Joe Robinson over at ultimateclassicrock.com has been doing a series of Celeb Look-Alikes photos, some are right on, some not. anyway, for shits and giggles on a sunday, take a look at some:
Jimmy Page + the Quaker Oats Guy – Celeb Look-Alikes
See More At ultimateclassicrock.com
=============
album cover art for the day:
AMBERIAN DAWN COVER ART & TRACKLIST RELEASED
AMBERIAN DAWN’s fourth studio album called 'CIRCUS BLACK' is scheduled for release February 29, 2012 via Spinefarm Records/Universal Music Group.
Tracklist:
1. Circus Black 3:49
2. Cold Kiss 3:31
3. Crimson Flower 4:25
4. Charnel’s Ball 4:27
5. Fight 3:21
6. Letter 4:31
7. I Share With You This Dream 3:37
8. Rivalry Between Good and Evil (Instrumental) 4:00
9. Guardian 5:09
10. Lily of the Moon 4:12
=============
told ya we'd see another one (but that was some risk i took!)
Third Metallica Session Song Hits The Web
=============
in music history for december 11th:
In 1939, the iconic picture of Betty Grable that later became a favorite pinup of American soldiers in World War II, appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine.
In 1957, 22 year old Jerry Lee Lewis secretly marries his 13 year old second cousin, Myra Gale Brown, while still married to Jane Mitcham. The Killer had first married when he was 16 to Dorothy Barton, the daughter of a local preacher. Mitcham became his second wife in a shotgun ceremony and before he had divorced the previous Mrs. Lewis. The marriage to Myra would last until 1970 and at last count, Jerry Lee has been married six times.
In 1959, the Coasters recorded "Charlie Brown." It went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, and was the first of three top-ten hits for the Coasters that year. It is best known for the phrase, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?" Towards the end of the bridge of the song, the words "Yeah, You!" were recorded at half speed, so the voices would play back at a higher pitch. King Curtis plays the tenor saxophone during the instrumental and the fade out of the record. There is no connection between this song and the character Charlie Brown from the comic strip Peanuts, though the PBS special American Masters: Charles Schulz seems to suggest a connection.
In 1960, Aretha Franklin made her New York debut at the Village Vanguard.
In 1961, Motown Records achieved their first number one song when The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" reaches the top. The session musicians on the track included 22 year old Marvin Gaye on drums.
Also in 1961, Elvis Presley started a twenty week run at the top of the Billboard album chart with "Blue Hawaii", his seventh US #1 album.
In 1964, singer/songwriter Sam Cooke was shot and killed at the Hacienda Hotel in Los Angeles. The married singer had picked up a 22-year-old woman named Elisa Boyer, who claimed Cooke attempted to rape her. When she ran away, according to her testimony, Cooke followed and assaulted the hotel manager while demanding to know the girl's whereabouts. The manager shot him three times. A jury later returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. Cooke was 33 years old.
CVR Blog 45rpm Singles Spotlight:
In 1964, The Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" was released.
In 1999, the performing-rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) ranked the song as having had more radio and television play in the United States than any other song during the 20th century. Additionally, the song was chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by RIAA and ranked #34 on the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.
Written by Barry Mann, Phil Spector and Cynthia Weil, the song is one of the foremost examples of producer Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" technique. Recorded in Studio A of the famed Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, it features 'The Wrecking Crew' instrumentally and lead vocals by Bill Medley. Bobby Hatfield reportedly expressed his annoyance to Spector upon learning that he would have to wait until the chorus before joining Medley’s vocals. When Hatfield asked Spector just what he was supposed to do during Medley’s solo, Spector replied: “You can go straight to the fucking bank.” The strings were arranged by legendary arranger Gene Page. Among the background singers in the song's crescendo is a young Cher.
Cynthia Weil recalled that, "After Phil, Barry and I finished [writing it], we took it over to the Righteous Brothers. Bill Medley, who has the low voice, seemed to like the song." Even with his interest in the song, however, Medley had his doubts. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he recalled, "We had no idea if it would be a hit. It was too slow, too long, and right in the middle of The Beatles and the British Invasion." Indeed, the song ran for nearly four minutes when released. This was much too long by contemporary AM standards, but Spector refused to cut it shorter. On the label where the time is indicated, he had "3:05" printed, instead of the track's actual running time of 3:45. He also added a false ending which made the recording more dramatic, and would also trick radio deejays into thinking it was a shorter song. Upon being played the finished record over the phone, co-writer Barry Mann reacted to Medley’s deep baritone by telling Spector, “Phil, you have it on the wrong speed!”
To Spector's surprise, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" topped the Billboard Hot 100 dated 6 February 1965 and remained at #1 the week of 13 February 1965. In addition the song crossed over to the R&B charts peaking at number two
In 1968, at Wembley studios in Middlesex, England, the Rolling Stones filmed the "Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus" TV special, featuring performances by John Lennon, Eric Clapton, the Who, Jethro Tull, and Marianne Faithful. Filmed in a circus tent and with actual circus people, the show never aired, supposedly because the Stones thought the Who's performance upstaged them. The film was finally released in 1996.
In 1970, Ringo Starr's movie 'The Magic Christian' premiered in London.
In 1970, John Lennon released "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band," his debut solo album. The companion album "Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band" was issued on the same day. The album covers are nearly identical. Lennon pointed out the difference in their 1980 Playboy interview: "In Yoko's, she's leaning back on me; in mine, I'm leaning on her."
In 1971, John Lennon debuted his new song "John Sinclair" at the Free John Sinclair Rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stevie Wonder, Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs also appeared. Sinclair is a Detroit poet, one-time manager of the band MC5, and for a year in the late 1960s was the leader of the White Panther Party. Following a series of convictions for possession of marijuana, Sinclair had been sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1969 after giving two marijuana joints to an undercover narcotics officer. Three days after the rally, Sinclair was released from prison when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state's marijuana statutes were unconstitutional.
Also in 1971, Carly Simon released the single, "Anticipation." The song related Simon's state of mind as she waited to go on a date with Cat Stevens. During the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the song was used in commercials for Heinz Ketchup.
In 1972, James Brown was arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" after a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee, when a conversation Brown had with fans was somehow mistaken for an attempt to incite a riot. Charges were dropped when Brown claimed police brutality and threatened to sue the city for $1 million.
In 1972, Genesis played their first show in the US at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.
In 1976, KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted during a concert in Florida. He had touched a short-circuited light. He was carried from the stage but returned 10 minutes later to continue and finish the show.
In 1985, the single "Superbowl Shuffle" by Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew was released.
In 1988, Don Henley, Tom Petty, Graham Nash and Bonnie put on a benefit show at The Wiltern Theatre to pay tribute to Roy Orbison.
In 1989, Four Led Zeppelin albums, 'Physical Graffiti,' 'Led Zeppelin,' 'Presence,' and 'In Through The Out Door,' were certified Multi-Platinum.
In 1997, Jewel, Sinead O'Connor and Emmylou Harris performed the Beatles' "In My Life" together at the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo.
In 2001, Gene Simmons (KISS) did an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" to promote his book "Kiss and Make-Up." The book was released for sale on December 4, 2001.
In 2002, Musicologist and author Rob Durkee compiled a list of The Top Ten Christmas Songs Of All Time (according to sales and radio air play)
1. White Christmas - Bing Crosby - 1942
2. Silent Night - Bing Crosby - 1936
3. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry - 1949
4. The Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale - 1958
5. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms - 1957
6. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole - 1946
7. The Chipmunk Song - David Seville and the Chipmunks - 1958
8. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee - 1958
9. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley - 1957
10. Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby / The Andrews Sisters - 1943
In 2006, R&B singer Walter Ward, lead vocalist of the Olympics, died at age 66.
In 2008, Roman Catholic Cardinal Jorge Medina criticized Madonna's first concert in Santiago, Chile, saying "This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner, she provokes a crazy enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts." About 60,000 fans were expected to attend each of her two scheduled performances.
In 2008, Dartford, England, hometown of Mick Jagger, approved the naming of some of its streets with titles of Rolling Stones songs.
birthdays today include (among others): David Gates - Bread (1940), Brenda Lee (1944), Nikki Sixx (1958) and Jermaine Jackson (1954)
