The turntable chronicles

My contest #1 (for the Black Lips/YACHT 7″) from last week garnered six entries, but each was a wonderful story of a record player. You guys are fine, fine storytellers and it was hard to decide — reading those comments made my day. I would encourage all you guys to read them too if you hold a special warmth in your heart for vinyl.

My winner is gonna be Miguel with this fantastic tale — how could I deny someone whose very first vinyl ever was of the Black Lips, and who owns the entire Smiths catalog (singles included) on vinyl as a gift from what I would have to call the best girlfriend ever? He writes:

I was in posession of only one vinyl record, which, strangely enough, was the Black Lips first 45 ep that they had given me for letting them stay on my couch in Brooklyn while on their first tour. I desperately wanted to listen to it, but throwing down a wad of cash for a record player so I could listen to a solitary 7 inch seemed a bit frivolous.

One Christmas, my (ex)girlfriend took pity me and my solitary record. Underneath the tree I found a shiny new Technics and the entire Smiths catalogue, singles included. (I bought her a watch. So tactless.)

Since then the collection has grown hundreds fold, but that first 45 with Ain’t Comin’ Back and the signature firecrackers solo will always be my favorite.

That’s fantastic, Miguel. Thanks to all for sharing; I hope to have a few more cool 7″ contests in this series. The Ryan Adams contest will end sometime tomorrow, and with over 70 heartfelt entries already, how in the world am I ever gonna choose?

Two new songs from Matt Nathanson: Car Crash & All We Are

Matt Nathanson is hard at work on the road promoting the release of his upcoming album Some Mad Hope (pictured above, LA skyscape, gorgeous) which is due out August 14th on Vanguard Records. He is rewarding his internet fanbase in an innovative way, sending exclusive content each Monday related to the songs on the new album. So far the last two Mondays we’ve gotten video showing off some new tunes in all their glory, and I thought to share them since I liked them both.

The first is a live acoustic version of Car Crash –a brutal song about wanting to feel the car crash, wanting to feel the bomb drop, “because I’m dying on the inside.” This was taped recently at The Living Room in New York City.

Car Crash

Then we have a performance of the final song on the album, “All We Are,” straight from Matt’s ordinary San Francisco living room.” He writes: “the album version has a full band playing on it…kind of three in-the-morning, norah jones meets PJ harvey vibe. this version has sort of an in-my-house, monday morning being video’d vibe.”

I always enjoy Matt’s smartass banter, and even at home early on a Monday morning, there’s no exception: “Luckily we had some equipment here from the ‘movie shoot’ we had this weekend, and we were able to get the farm animals out and stuff, and wash the walls down . . . we’re clothed now . . . so I thought it would be cool to use the equipment while it was still rented.” Note the barely suppressed smile. This is a lovely wisp of a song, perfect for a closing track.

All We Are

You can preorder Some Mad Hope now and get a fancy package deal that includes an autographed booklet, a sticker, and a bonus EP featuring in-studio, solo acoustic versions of three of the new songs. Go for it.

Mason Jennings: Frick fight and a cover by Kweller

I came across this hilarious bit of storytelling on Mason Jennings’ MySpace blog page yesterday.

Frickin’ awesome:

“FRICK FIGHT”
So, there I was, walking through an herb garden at a lovely spa/retreat in New Mexico. We had the good fortune of staying there on our last tour. I was walking the grounds thinking about how beautiful the day was. I was walking around a grove of trees when, bam, I walked smack into my first Frick Fight.

Mustache: What the frick were you thinking?
Pomade: I frickin told you, I didn’t frickin do it…
Mustache: Yes, you frickin did. Don’t frickin say you didn’t.
Pomade: I frickin didn’t.
Mustache: If you frickin do that one more time, I’ll frickin..
Pomade: I frickin said, I frickin didn’t do it.
Mustache: Don’t frickin lie to me. I have frickin had it.

Mason
Minneapolis, Minnesota
6/28/07

Also, I had missed that Ben Kweller covered Mason’s song “Sorry Signs on Cash Machines” last year on the Sundress EP, but am enjoying it now. When I hear different versions of Mason’s songs, I’m always struck by just how visceral and evocative a songwriter he is:

Sorry Signs on Cash Machines – Ben Kweller

Sorry Signs on Cash Machines – Mason Jennings

The best song ever about salmon spawning. Maybe the only one.

Does anyone remember that song about roly-poly fishheads from the early ’90s? “Fishheads are never seen drinking cappuccinos in Italian restaurants with Oriental women.” Yeah, I have no idea what it was about, but we used to play it on my friend’s college radio show at KSCU (from the damp basement of Swig Hall).

This song from the new Chemical Brothers album is similarly piscine in scope, and reminds me some of Fishheads, so maybe it’s not surprising that some twisted pleasure-center of my brain likes it. A salmon dance? This features Fatlip (previously of The Pharcyde) and urges the listener to “shake your body like a salmon floating upstream” and talks about dancing like a fish while doin’ The Snap. It could be this year’s shake it like a polaroid picture. Yes, it’s kitschy and ridiculous, but if you can resist liking this even a little bit, you are a better person than I.

I know, I know.

The Salmon Dance (feat Fatlip) – The Chemical Brothers

The new Chemical Brothers album We Are The Night is due July 17 on Astralwerks, and also features widely-varied collaborations with The Klaxons, Midlake, and Willy Mason. (thanks Max)

On a related note, I just recently figured out how big and ugly salmon are, thanks to my very favorite dirty jobber Mike Rowe. I guess I kind of pictured them like shiny pink trout. Just goes to demonstrate that no, I have never gone fishing. I need to fix that.

New Redwalls tour dates, independent EP released

When I saw The Redwalls with OK Go at the Bluebird Theatre in 2005, it was an awesome, power-pop-filled evening. The Redwalls are a foursome out of Chicago, fronted by a pair of brothers, with finely-aged sound that far exceeds their 20-something years of living. They were signed with Capitol, but recently parted ways with the label following the completion of recording some new material. Capitol let them keep those demos, which have just been released as an independent EP: The Wall to Wall Sessions. They also just announced some tour dates (following their string of shows opening for Oasis last year) — I definitely recommend catching them live if you can. I wrote last year:

I was blown away seeing them live. Four young guys, shaggy dark hair, tight pants, pointed boots – straight-up British Invasion brought back to life (oh wait, did it ever die?). They looked so young; I remember telling my friend Heidi that I felt like we were at a high school talent show (albeit one of very high caliber). These kids have stage presence and swagger galore — although, really, who at 22 opening for all these great bands wouldn’t swagger just a tad?

Go see them live (dates below) and enjoy this sample off the new EP, which is available to purchase here. An interesting song –much bigger than the catchy little songs of their earlier efforts– sounding kind of like the Beatles fronting Joshua-Tree-era U2?

Pearl Jam unleashes their cover of “Love Reign O’er Me” in concert for the first time

Pearl Jam played Copenhagen (wonderful Copenhagen) last night, their first return to Denmark since the tragic deaths of 9 fans during their set at the 2000 Roskilde Festival. By all accounts it was an emotional night yesterday for the fans and the band. Ed gave a small and heartfelt speech near the end of the set “somewhere along the lines [of] all of us walking the road/path of life, and tonight all our personal paths crossed. In other words, he sort of celebrated life by saying that we had to look forward and just follow that path wherever it may take us.” (from a fan who was there)

New contest #2: Easy, tiger (Ryan Adams lithograph and new album)

And here’s the second contest of today, this one to celebrate the official release of Ryan Adams‘ ninth studio album Easy Tiger (out today on Lost Highway):

That snarly, wild piece of wall art is a limited edition Ryan Adams lithograph, hand-numbered out of 100, that I have to give away. It would fit nicely if you live in Alaska, or maybe have one of those urban-wolf decoration schemes. It also showcases (assumedly) Ryan’s hand quite nicely, and . . . it’s cool.

The contest also includes a copy of the Easy Tiger album, which I have been enjoying quite often these last few weeks. Although it has not risen to “absolute gem” status for me yet, I definitely think that it is a familiar step into a very good direction for Ryan. There is, as you have likely read in any of a dozen other reviews, a greater focus from Ryan here and a tighter feel to the album.

It is still Ryan, though, so it wanders some (though not unpleasantly) and feels a little bit jarring to me in places. But all nine of his albums have always varied wildly in their style and mood from one to the next. From burnished alt-country, to gorgeously sad rock ballads, to humid Southern jams, to squealing punk, Ryan doesn’t stay the same and I do appreciate that creativity. I hope Easy Tiger does very good things for him; combined with a newfound sobriety, I also hope that he delivers a string of focused live shows to reinforce that talent and convert a new round of folks to his musically-winning ways.

TO WIN THE PACKAGE: Since I’ve been in a pensive lyric mood lately, I would like to discuss your favorite lyric ever penned by Mr. Ryan Adams. I will pick a winner this weekend, make sure to give me a way to contact you.

RYAN ADAMS TOUR DATES
June
26 – New York, NY – Hiro Ballroom
28 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
29 – Boston, MA – Somerville Theater

July
10 – Charlottesville, VA – Paramount Theatre
11 – Louisville, KY – Brown Theatre
12 – Germantown, TN – Germantown Performing Arts Center
14 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre
19 – Los Angeles, CA – Wilshire Ebell
21 – Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst
23 – San Francisco, CA – Herbst Theatre
24 – Berkeley, CA – Berkeley Community Theater
26 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre
27 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
28 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theatre
31 – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden

August
2 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre (AAA Records & Radio conf)
3 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

AUDIO:
Two – Ryan Adams
Everybody Knows – Ryan Adams

New contest #1: Black Lips/Yacht 7″ from the Fader folks

Okay kids, today is a Two Contest Day. This first one is my favorite kind because it involves vinyl (the record kind, not, like . . . the outfit kind or anything).

As previously mentioned, Fader Magazine is pairing up with the favorite comfort of the South to offer this limited 7″ club featuring up-and-coming artists. The last one featured the remix of “Magic Trick” with M. Ward and Jim James (b-side Ladyhawk), and this time around one lucky reader will win him or herself a limited edition 7″ containing the following:

Side A: Wild Man – The Black Lips
(cover of The Tamrons’ 1967 garage rock tune from Atlanta “flower punk” band)

Side B: No Favors Policy – YACHT
(funky electronica from one-man band project of Jona Bechtolt, formerly half of The Blow)

To win this fine treat, please tell me the story of your record player. In other words, how will you enjoy this prize? I think you should have a record player to win it, but I guess anyone can enter. Your comment won’t hold the same oomph though, will it? I will pick a winner on Friday (be sure to leave a way to contact you).

Also, in conjunction with the contest, FADER’s gone ahead and put their whole latest issue in pdf for you to peruse. Check it here.

Sweet symphony: The Verve reunite

The Verve just announced some big news today — they are reuniting after eight years apart for a new album at the end of the summer and several shows this fall. Even though they’ve all slagged off on each other with vitriol in the intervening years, saying that a complete Beatles reunion was more likely than a Verve one, the statement released today says that they are “getting back together for the joy of the music.” Isn’t that sweet.

Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones, and Pete Salisbury were back in the recording studio in London last week, and tickets to a handful of UK shows go on sale July 6th. Here’s to hoping there’s some amazing music waiting to come out from their reunion. In related listening, these are the demos from the Urban Hymns sessions at West London’s Olympic Studios in 1996 & 1997. The information that came with these when I sleuthed them out on a dare reads:

These are the legendary Urban Hymns demos recorded by Richard Ashcroft during 1996. They are from an analog source, but the quality is very listenable, all the instruments and vocals are present and clear. Verve drummer Peter Salisbury plays drums on most tracks, and most likely Simon Tong plays as well although no one is sure of the lineup other than Ashcroft and Salisbury. There are 3 songs from Urban Hymns, two b-sides from that album, 3 tracks that a few years later would appear on Ashcroft’s debut solo album, and eight unreleased tracks. Obviously, the absence of Nick McCabe from the proceedings is a negative, but the unreleased tracks and early versions of other songs make a nice addition to the Verve catalog.

OLYMPIC STUDIOS
VERVE DEMOS
OCT 13, 1996 – AUG 4, 1997
Space and Time
Sonnet
Song For The Lovers
One Before Dinner
Misty Morning June
Lord I’ve Been Trying
Jerusalem
The Drugs Don’t Work
C’mon People
Crab
A Little Bit Of Love
Lord, I Guess I’ll Never Know
Monte Carlo
Oh Sister
New York (Siren mix)
One More For The Lovers
It Takes Two

ZIP: VERVE OLYMPIC STUDIO DEMOS

Internet radio day of silence

Today marks a voluntary day of silence for internet radio stations to raise awareness of the recent royalty rate hikes affected by the Copyright Royalty Board. These hikes are not only retroactive for 17 months and due July 15th, but greatly increase the amounts of royalties that thousands of internet radio stations will have to pay to SoundExchange (the long arm of the royalty collecting law). This means everyone from the corporate giants (AOL, Yahoo — who can afford it) to the little guys and gals at home running their own music-lovers’-paradises streaming over the web (who can’t) will be hit with a massive bill. It also makes no differentiation between commercial and public radio.

There is an interesting article in the new July ’07 Paste Magazine about online radio with this quote from John Simson, executive director of SoundExchange, which literally made me laugh out loud — mostly from indignation. He very grandly stated to the Washington Post that, “The attitude that really has to change is that the people playing this music on the web are somehow doing artists a favor.”

Seriously? Does Mr. Simson have any idea how many fledgling bands out there are making really good music and would love to have that music heard by any means possible? This drinking-from-a-firehose era of digital music means pretty much exactly that: getting airplay exposure (or, by extension, blog coverage as well) isn’t exactly doing a favor for a band –because they’ve earned it– but it is a dang good thing which shouldn’t penalize those spreading the word. Most internet radio stations make a fraction of what these royalites will cost, and the hikes represent a sort of death knell to a huge source of vibrant, free-form creativity for new listeners.

They are going about this in completely the wrong way. You might consider visiting the Save Net Radio site if you think so too, or signing the petition that the good folks over at WXPN have going. I worry about the future of music discovery in all its forms.