Record Store Day - Today!

Growing up, my local record store was a big part of my cultural education. Be sure to support your local today. You check on participating venues here.

The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived by Chris Brown, and was founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.

This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.

Record Store Day is currently managed by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Melanie Nipper, and Carrie Colliton. Folks wanting to contact Record Store Day are encouraged to email us at information@recordstoreday.com

NOTE:
A Record Store Day participating store is defined as a physical retailer whose product line consists of at least 50% music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70% located in the state of operation. (In other words, we’re dealing with real, live, physical, indie record stores—not online retailers or corporate behemoths).

Mod spot

Sharon Tandy signing with the Fleur De Lys. Quite a heavy track for the time. Hold On indeed!

Ginger breaks

Ginger Baker in Africa

Rest in peace Mr. Chilton

I think I'll listen to Big Star all day today.

r.i.p. Dale Hawkins

Rock'n'roll pioneer Dale Hawkins has passed. See the obit here.

teenage riot

flag photographed by raymond jacquemyns antwerp 2005.


via: Nick Drake

blue jay way

image: Simon Bliss

10 minutes de silence pour John Lennon

29 years ago


film: Raymond Depardon

Jack Rose RIP

A friend of mine who is a founding member of Pelt, gave me the news yesterday of the untimely death of van guard musician Jack Rose.

Jack Rose (February 16, 1971 – December 5, 2009) was an American guitaristVirginia and later based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A founding member of the drone/noise band Pelt, Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. n 1993, Jack Rose joined the noise/drone band Pelt, releasing a handful of albums and EPs on various labels. Although Pelt frequently went on and off hiatus during Rose's most involved periods in the band, he didn't begin to concentrate on his own recordings until the early 2000s. He first released two CD-Rs, Hung Far Low, Portland, Oregon and Doctor Ragtime, which featured a mix of country blues and ragtime originals, as well as covers of artists such as John Fahey and Sam McGee. He followed up with his first proper full-length, Red Horse, White Mule, which was released on CD and vinyl by Eclipse Records in 2002.

Rose's first three consecutive releases on Eclipse Records -- Red Horse, White MuleOpium Musick (2003), and Raag Manifestos (2004) -- were met with praise by critics and contemporaries alike. "Finally," said Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance, referring to Opium Musick in an interview with Pitchfork, "somebody has something to say on the acoustic guitar that hasn't been said before." [1] originally from (2002).

Raag Manifestos was named one of 2004's "50 Records of the Year" by the UK avant garde music magazine The Wire in January of 2005^[2], following a feature on him in issue #241^[3]. Rose's rise in popularity in the UK during that time coincided with his Peel Session on May 20th, 2004^[4]. (wikipedia)

In 2005 he released Kensington Blues on Tequila Sunrise records. Featuring ragtime, ragas, country blues and lap steel, this was his most accomplished record to date, earning high marks from such media outlets as Pitchfork^[5] and Dusted Magazine^[6] Rose was considered instrumental in bringing ragtime into the modern era and transforming it into something that was both referential and original. But as a self-taught player proficient on the guitar, including the 6-string, 12-string and lap steel, he brought a wide range of influences to his music.

Explaining his process in a 2007 interview, Rose said his favorite music was "anything that's pre 1942; Cajun, Country, Blues, Jazz all that stuff... that's my favorite kind of music." Rose also pointed to later musicians, such as John Fahey and Robbie Basho, as influences. (Spinner)

If you are unfamiliar with his music you should get to know it. Here's a sample.

Darsombra

This is pretty much my studio soundtrack at the moment. Heavy, dark and majestic.

My Certain Fate - a series of interviews

As mentioned, I'll be participating in an upcoming group show curated by Timothy Buckwalter. Over at Timothy's site, he's been posting his conversations with several artists about their relationship with music and art. If you're a music head and artist or both, I think you might find some kindred spirits.

• Douglas Witmer
• Jeffrey Cortland Jones
• Rebecca Whipple
• Jim Winters
• Tammy Harper
• Michael Zahn

the Vanilla Ice apology

via: Timothy Buckwalter

Black Cab Sessions

One Song. One Take. One Cab.

This is one of those things where you wonder - "where have I been for the last year"? The Black Cab Sessions is a fantastic web series for music fans. You'll love it.

Radiohead [HD] because I luv you

Glastonbury 2003. That's right the whole concert...

There is also Radiohead in Japan from the recent tour that was a TV broadcast and is incredible, but it was taken down about an hour ago. You will still see clips though, start with that Radiohead at Saitama on the right that is now defunct, and then open the individual songs



hat tip: Geoff

Creation - Painter Man

via Steven LaRose

brand new start 09

a dreaded year end list!

So we all hate the "best of" mantra but I could not resist posting at least one marker of the past year. It's a music list - I hear the rolling of eyes - but this is a fantastic list of good music to expand your ear. I'll confess that I'm pinching this off a friend with a few embellishments of my own. The list is really about music we gravitated towards as artists. I think you'll find some nuggets here that aren't the usual suspects on music sites. I'm too lazy to provide links but here is the list anyway - enjoy!

BON IVER –For Emma, Forever Ago

GROUPER –Dragging a Deer Up a Hill

FLEET FOXES –Fleet Foxes

VIVIAN GIRLS -Vivian Girls

MOUNT EERIE w/ Julie Doiron& Fred Squire- Lost Wisdom

Peel Show Hits and Long Lost lo-Fi Favourites, Vol.1

NICK LOWE –Jesus of Cool

THE NERVES-The Nerves EP

SIXTO RODRIGUEZ –Cold Fact

VALERIO COSI -Collected Works/Heavy Electronic Pacific Loop/We Could For Hours (w/ Fabio Orsi)
NNCK -Clomeim
FRUSTRATION -Relax
BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE -Dolores

Touch 7" series
THE FALL -Imperial Wax Solvent
SMITH & BLANEY s/t

TOUMANI DIABATE -The Mande Variations
JOSEPHINE FOSTER -This Coming Gladness
JONNY GREENWOOD -There Will Be Blood
EMERALDS -Solar Bridge
FANTASTIKOI HXOI -Kyriarxoi Tou Sympantos
ARVE HENRIKSEN -Cartography
INDIAN JEWELRY -Free Gold!
JUANA MOLINA -Un Dia
LEGOWELT -The Rise and Fall of Manuel Noriega
ONE MORE GRAIN -Isle of Grain
PORTISHEAD -Third
vOLCANO! -Paperwork
RICHARD SKELTON -Marking Time
RICHARD SWIFT -As Onasis I & II
Buraka Som Sistema -Black Diamond
Cambodian Cassette Archives s/t
Erik Friedlander -Broken Arm Trio
Kim Doo Soo -10 Days Butterfly
THE RASTER NOTON LABEL (pretty much everything they put out this year)

Dey Know ...Blago

This gets high points. Behold the evolution of the news cycle!



Via: Matt Yglesias

If I was high class.....

Sometimes you need a little APP....

feeling Baker Street

Not sure if it gets much better than this one.