Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

This from the folks over at jack white's www.thirdmanrecords.com  As a collector, I have mixed feelings, although this is a fantastic stunt, the making of these discs does serve some valuable purposes.  It draws attention to vinyl (which is always a good thing) and makes a instant collectible, but it won't be in my collection because of the cost.....

Jack White Balloon Record Breaks Record to Become Highest Priced Flexi Disc of All Time

On April 17th, an eBay auction for a copy of Third Man’s balloon-launched “Freedom at 21” flexi-disc realized a price of $4238.88. As far as can be discerned, this is the highest price ever paid for a flexi-disc record, topping out usual benchmarks from obscure Japanese hardcore singles of the early 80’s and Beatles fan-club Christmas offerings. Of the 1000 balloons launched, only a handful have been discovered so far. This release will surely continue to rival such rarities as hand-painted Dead Weather singles, 3rpm LPs and Triple-Decker records as yet another in a long-line of collectible, investible, hard-to-find vinyl from the folks at Third Man Records.

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always liked the band, now we have a treasure of music!

Blur 21 - Celebrating 21 years of Blur

 

Two-disc Special Edition boxes of all seven studio albums, with the first five albums now also remastered. Each album comes with an entire disc of bonus material that includes a wealth of Blur extras, exclusive Blur artwork postcards and an expanded booklet with unseen photos and liner notes based on a brand new interview with the band

Blur 21: The Box Includes:

  •All seven newly expanded two-disc studio albums

 •Four discs of rarities, exclusive to this set. Includes 3½ hours of previously unreleased material

 •Three DVDs including over 2 hours of previously unreleased footage. Includes two pivotal live shows and an exclusive disc of video rarities.

 •Collectable 7" single of the rare and previously unreleased live recording of the Seymour-era track Superman.

 •Deluxe hard-bound book telling the story of Blur's 21 year career with extensive liner notes based on a brand new interviews with the band, illustrated with imagery of the era, including some previously unseen photos.

freaking cool, send me one!

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now if i can get to chi-town in september (hint, send me tickets!)

Rush Announce Tour Dates

In anticipation of the Canadian icon's upcoming album, 'Clockwork Angels,' which is due out on June 12, Rush have now announced tour dates to promote the LP.

The tour kicks off September 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire and will travel to 30-plus cities before closing out December 2 in Houston, Texas.

Rush 2012 Tour Dates:

 9/7 -- Manchester, NH, Verizon Wireless Arena
 9/9 -- Washington, D.C., Jiffy Lube Live Amphitheater
 9/11 -- Pittsburgh, PA, CONSOL Energy Center
 9/13 -- Indianapolis, IN, Bankers Life Fieldhouse
 9/15 -- Chicago, IL, United Center
 9/18 -- Detroit, MI, Palace of Auburn Hills
 9/20 -- Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
 9/22 -- St. Louis, MO, Scottrade Center
 9/24 -- Minneapolis, MN, Target Center
 9/26 -- Winnipeg, MB, MTS Centre
 9/28 -- Saskatoon, SK, Credit Union Centre
 9/30 -- Edmonton, AB, Rexall Place
 10/10 -- Bridgeport, CT, Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard
 10/12 -- Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Center
 10/14 -- Toronto, ON, Air Canada Centre
 10/18 -- Montreal, QC, Bell Centre
 10/20 -- Newark, NJ, Prudential Center
 10/22 -- Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center
 10/24 -- Boston, MA, TD Garden
 10/26 -- Buffalo, NY, First Niagara Center
 10/28 -- Cleveland, OH, Quicken Loans Arena
 10/30 -- Charlotte, NC, Time Warner Cable Arena
 11/1 -- Atlanta, GA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
 11/3 -- Tampa, FL, 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
 11/13 -- Seattle, WA, KeyArena
 11/15 -- San Jose, CA, HP Pavilion
 11/17 -- Anaheim, CA, Honda Center
 11/19 -- Los Angeles, CA, Gibson Amphitheatre
 11/23 -- Las Vegas, NV, MGM Grand Garden Arena
 11/25 -- Phoenix, AZ, US Airways Center
 11/28 -- Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
 11/30 -- San Antonio, TX, AT&T Center
 12/2 -- Houston, TX, Toyota Center

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heard from Liz Wittman of the Detroit-based synthwave band called Lettercamp.   Check out their new single called "Buy In."  The single is being released through Swedish label, Substream, on April 23rd, along with some amazing remixes. This is the second single leading up to our new record to be released later this year.

Listen to the single HERE

For more info on the band visit:

https://www.facebook.com/Lettercamp
http://lettercamp.bandcamp.com/
http://substream.se

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album cover art of the day:

BLODHEMN: New Album Artwork 

 

Norwegian black metal band BLODHEMN will release its new album, 'Holmengraa,' on May 18th on Indie Recordings.




















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Balyios Reveals Debut Album Artwork

South African folk metallers Balyios have recently revealed the cover art and track listing for their upcoming debut album, 'Homeward.'  The album is expected to be released sometime in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Tracklist

1. Initiation
2. Niflheim
3. Elder Bliss
4. Old Man Maiden
5. Land Van 'n Duisend Mere
6. Valhalla
7. Witches' Betrayal
8. Autumn Moon
9. Earth Reborn
10. Homeward
11. Enter Euphoria
12. Conclusion




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this sad news...

Levon Helm (1940 - 2012)

Levon Helm, who played drums for The Band and eventually had a critically acclaimed solo career, has lost his battle with cancer. He was 71.

Prior to the Band, Helm played with Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks.  Among his bandmates were Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson. In 1963, they parted ways with Hawkins and went on the road as Levon and the Hawks, The Canadian Squires and, finally, the Hawks.

Read more at our friends at VintageVinylNews

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Ian Rankin: It would be a crime to kill off vinyl

By Tom Bailey

As one of the world’s best-selling authors – and creator of the TV series Rebus – Ian Rankin has made millions by writing about ‘the adventures in his head’. But his fascination with crime is matched by an obsession with vinyl and classic hi-fi. Humans Invent asked him why, despite the rise of digital downloads, he continues to champion 33s and 45s…

“Vinyl is seductive. It’s aesthetically pleasing, it’s tactile and the best album covers are works of art. They contained plenty of information and if you’re my age – which is 51 – you can actually read the lyrics on the back of the sleeve. I can’t read anything in a CD booklet, it’s too small. Forget it. I’d also say that – for a certain generation – the ability to roll a joint on an album cover is worth mentioning. Try rolling a joint on an MP3…

Read the rest at humansinvent.com

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hundreds of record store day articles out there, here's a couple I liked:


For the record — groovy shopping day in store for music lovers



Gallery: Record Store Day’s Coolest Vinyl Collectibles

Record Store Day Drops the Needle on 300 Exclusive Vinyl Releases

this from Jeff Palmer over at www.vinylnewsservice.net

A RECORD STORE NEAR YOU, April 18, 2012 – From Abba to Wilco, exclusive vinyl recordings of all genres, shapes, sizes, colors, and speeds will be released on April 21 to commemorate Record Store Day for 2012.

To celebrate and promote independently owned record stores throughout North America and Europe, Record Store Day was founded in 2007 and takes place the third Saturday of every April. 

Many record labels are honoring the day with the release of more than 300 vinyl recordings, most of them unavailable any other way. 

More than 1,700 independently owned record stores and shops in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and 25 other countries are participating in the event, from the world’s oldest record shop, Spillers Records in Cardiff, England, which first opened in 1894, to Chicago’s Hydrogen Plus Records which opened last fall.

Special vinyl releases will be sold solely at participating stores, and store owners will choose which titles they plan to stock, including:

 •James Brown – unreleased performances from his 1962 Apollo Theatre concert

•The Civil Wars – a 7-inch 45 of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”

•Miles Davis - Forever Miles, an album of previously unreleased performances

•Flaming Lips – a double-album collaboration with various musicians

•The Kinks – re-issues of three late 1960s albums on colored vinyl

•Branford Marsalis – the latest release of his jazz quartet

•Metallica – previously unreleased recordings on 12-inch silver vinyl

•Katy Perry – her song “Part of Me” on pink vinyl

•Iggy Pop – a 7-inch release on lime green vinyl

•The Supremes – a 7-inch release of their early hit “Baby Love” on heart-shaped vinyl

•Tegan & Sara – their Get Along album on white vinyl

•Peter Tosh – re-mixes of his Legalize It music on a picture disc

•Widespread Panic – Live Wood, an album of recordings from its recent tour

Music lovers of all ages continue to discover or return to their love of analog music on vinyl, describing it as “richer,” “warmer,” “more natural,” “more durable,”  and simply “cooler.”  In addition, about half of all recorded music has only been released on vinyl. 

Critics of digitized music complain mid-range sounds are compressed and distorted, while higher frequencies are missing.  At a media conference in January, rock musician Neil Young said digital music only provides 5 percent of the data of music created in a studio, and that even digital guru Steve Jobs preferred listening to analog recordings on vinyl. 

Vinyl-philes revel in the ceremony of taking a record out of its sleeve, gazing at the album cover art, and playing the record through one side, then flipping it over, claiming that is the way the music was meant to be heard.  Vinyl listening can be a social event, with music lovers gathered in clubs and dorm rooms to play their favorite albums.    

Nielsen Soundscan continues to rank vinyl as the fastest-growing musical format, with 3.9 million new long-playing vinyl albums sold in the United States, up 39.3 percent from 2010.   And the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) noted sales of new vinyl singles, typically played at 45 revolutions per minute and containing one song on each side, nearly doubled last year in retail dollars, from about $2.3 million in 2010 to more than $4.5 million.  

“Vinyl as a format has shown remarkable staying power,” said Joshua P. Friedlander, RIAA Vice President, Strategic Data Analysis.  “Although it remains only a small part of the music market today, vinyl album sales have been growing for the past few years.  In 2011, more than five million vinyl albums were shipped, the highest level since 1990.”

While most long-playing vinyl spins at 33 1/3 rpm, rock mavericks such as Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Tom Waits have all recently released records to be played at 78 rpm, since many new turntables have resurrected the vintage playing speed, a music format virtually extinct by 1960.

Extinction, the word used to describe the fate of vinyl records when CDs began usurping their shelf space in music stores in the 1980s and 1990s, is now being used in relation to CDs, as retailers strive to provide customers what they want – more vinyl. 
 
For more information on Record Store Day, participating record stores, and a complete list of special vinyl releases, go to www.recordstoreday.com. 

The Vinyl Institute represents the leading manufacturers involved in the production of PVC vinyl in the United States, and promotes the value of PVC and vinyl products to society.

For more information, contact:
Jeffrey B. Palmer
Director of Marketing & Communications
The Vinyl Institute
571-970-3327

jpalmer@vinylinfo.org

A NOTE FROM RECORD STORE DAY!

Perhaps you’ve heard that there’s a big party coming up on Saturday, and you’re invited. Everyone’s invited, in fact, because everyone belongs at a record store. And the fifth annual Record Store Day is nothing if not a worldwide celebration of the culture of the record store.

Already have plans to visit your favorite record store on 4/21. We don’t know which store that is, but we know that if it’s one of the hundreds of participating stores in the United States, they are getting ready to have a great time and celebrate with you. You can find out what your store has in mind by looking them up on our website (www.recordstoreday.com).

Maybe there’s a particular Record Store Day release you’re looking for—there are over 250 of them this year, and they are all special, limited edition pieces made just for the fans, and made for indie record stores. We’re pretty proud of our list this year: from Jazz to Classical to Punk to Classic Rock to Hip-Hop, Indie, Dance and Country, it really runs the gamut. Every store brings in their own stock, so every store has a different collection of releases. Check with your favorite store to find out what’s available. And if you want to see the list of titles, well, yeah, you can find that on our site too, www.recordstoreday.com

Are you heading out in the afternoon to the store? Chances are you can expect to find bands, food, prizes, and a great party going on, no matter where you are. There are hundreds of in-store events and signings, from local band marathons to bar-b-qs and special signings with some really big name artists. Check with your local store to find out what kind of party they’ve got planned.

Not sure where to go? Travelling this weekend? We can help you find a place wherever you are, just try the STORE LOCATOR on our website, or download our new RSD GUIDE APP, available for fancy iPhones and Droids. You can check out all the videos, contests and everything you’ll find on our website, as well as have a handy portable STORE LOCATOR which will help you find the nearest record stores, no matter where you are. www.recordstoreday.com/App is where you need to start.

If you’re heading out at any time during the weekend to celebrate Record Store Day with your favorite store, we thank you. And if you want to hang out throughout the year, follow us on Twitter (@recordstoreday) or friend us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RecordStoreDay) and we’ll give you the scoop on cool things happening all year long. There are three elements to any good record store, the staff, the music, and YOU. Record Store Day celebrates you as much as anything, so come on out and meet us at the record store. Let’s celebrate!

THE FIFTH ANNUAL RECORD STORE DAY IS CELEBRATED WORLDWIDE THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 21.

Find a store near you at www.recordstoreday.com