Holiday Vinyl Is The Best Vinyl

Did I have a memorable pancake in the second half of 2010? Nope. Sad but true. I enjoyed french toasts, oatmeals, a waffle here and there, but I cooled to pancakes. I mean, don't get me wrong, I ate them, but never felt the urge to blog them. So here's hoping for a resurgence of disc based eating in 2011. Now, on to the records!

Going home to Saratoga for Christmas used to mean a stop at Last Vestige, but now it has transformed into DiVinyl Revolution. So now I go there. Same room, much different selection. It actually had me worried on my last visit around Labor Day, since all (or most) of the Last Vestige stock was consolidated to their Albany store (which rules in case you didn't know). What I used to love about Last Vestige in Saratoga was that I could always count on walking out with some great R&B, Soul or New Jack in addition to solid missing pieces to add to my 80's pop, gotta get it all, mentality. That kind of stuff always sat there and I could count on coming back to if I couldn't afford it on that trip. When I walked in on Labor Day, things were different. Gone was the frequent buyer card, the 7" selection had been paired down (or maybe I just bought all of the good ones the last time), no more dollar bin in the back, prog section had evaporated (really should have bought that Brand X stack last time), and the main pop/rock sections, usually thick with synth pop were thin, thin, THIN! Like, ummm, excuse me! What happened to the Pet Shop Boys?! Depressing. So on this trip, I was elated to find that things are returning to normal. Prince related material, Guy and New Edition, rare U2 double live LP, and new vinyl like the Sleigh Bells record I have been so obsessed with recently, all left in good hands. My hands. I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it must be to keep a record store in a small city stocked with high quality vinyl, especially around the holiday season, so way to go DiVinyl! I will continue to give you my money without blinking twice. And don't even think I haven't been eying that Joy Division box set up on the wall. It will be mine...

A few days before DiVinyl, I was in New York City for the first time in years and there was no way I wasn't going to make it down to Generation Records in the Village while I was there. Last time, in maybe 2006/07, I found multiple One King Down releases in their basement section, so it instantly became a favorite for Hardcore finds. In about a half an hour of speed perusing, I walked away with some Bane, VOD, Health, and a couple of pop/prog-ers from the upstairs. Pretty psyched to find a Pianos Become the Teeth 9" as well. Oh, and I had a lovely conversation with the main clerk about Yes and King Crimson. Wonderous!

I also walked into Bleecker Street Records prior to the Generation expo, but I simply had to walk out. Trust me, I am all about dropping $35 each on multiple Prince rarities that would have looked great on my shelves, but I wanted to leave NYC with more than just a few in the bag. So I will be back for you guys, I promise!

Finally, three records for Christmas gifts - Jimmy Eat World: Invented (which I really hope grows on me cause right now I think it is maybe their worst record), Robyn: With Every Heartbeat 12", and Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago. That last one has been on my Amazon list since it came out so I am glad I finally own it. Now onto the summary/recap:

DiVINYL REVOLUTION

12"

Guy: I Wanna Get With U

New Edition: Crucial

Chunky A!: OWWWW! (Arsenio Hall comedy record)

LPs

U2: The Cork Connection (last show of the European tour in '87 and Edge's 27th birthday)

Sleigh Bells: Treats

The Time: Pandemonium

Iron Eagle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Sheila E.: Sheila E. In Romance 1600

The Courier: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 

DeBarge: Rhythm of the Night

Morris Day: Color of Success

Van Halen: 5150

Lonely Is An Eyesore (4AD Comp from '87)

Music With 58 Musicians, Volume One (ECM Comp from '80)

GENERATION RECORDS

7"
Japandroids: Younger Us

Vision of Disorder: Resurrecting Reality

Health: Perfect Skin

Bane: Boston

Bane: Los Angeles

9" (!!!)

The Saddest Landscape/Pianos Become the Teeth: Split

12"

Belinda Carlisle: Mad About You

LPs

Kate Bush: The Whole Story

Yes: Yessongs

Peter Gabriel: Scratch My Back

CHRISTMAS GIFTS:

Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago

Robyn: With Every Heartbeat (12")

Jimmy Eat World (Invented)

My Best Day In Vinyl So Far

Oh man, new Crocodiles 7" Sleep Forever is SUPREME. Summer of Hate has been an addiction for me over the last year and this release delivers more promise to one of my favorite bands going right now. Got the pre-order in the for the new record at amazon, so this fall is going to be great. And by great, I mean Brandon Flowers great.

Next record up is the Brandon Flowers Crossfire 10". Love This Song. And I cannot wait for the full length. Most anticipated release for me this year. Also got the Dustland Fairytale picture disc 7" to round out some Sam's Town Collecting.

In additional mail order news, Manual's Drowned In Light came in.  Although it does not reach the heights of his early to mid 2000 output, it is solid selection of tracks that return to the minimalist approach that made me love Jonas Munk's ambiance in the first place.  It is also quite an abrupt u-turn from the maximal force of Azure Vista.  This record sounds more like his Limp days or the earlier Morr catalog that I fell in love with right after college.  And although it feels like his creative upswing has stalled, I will always enjoy his take on MBV/Cocteau Twins ambient electronica.

Fast forward a month or so to a splurge at Smash! Some absolutely solid grabs from here including the white vinyl Downpour/Serial Killer 5" (!!!!) from Converge, Banes Free To Think, Free To Be 7", a Brazilian pressing of Sepultura's Chaos A.D., a blank vinyl copy of Bane's It All Comes Down To This (psyched) and finally a 180 gram reissue of Public Image Ltd.'s Album. John Richards from KEXP turned me on to that one a month or so ago after playing Rise and I have been playing it ever since. I don't know what is more strangely alluring about that album, Lydon's completely gripping singular delivery or Steve Vai's out-of-place, but absolutely right on guitar playing. Either way, glad to have it in my collection.

But the most happy I have ever been about records/best day in vinyl so far gets revealed now... Japandroids' Younger Us 7" featuring cover photography by yours truly! Check it out here. Hopefully this will be the first of many more to come for me, but for right now, I am in heaven knowing I will always have that. Thanks for listening!

So to recap:

5"
Converge - Downpour / Serial Killer (white)

7"
Japandroids - Younger Us
Bane - Free To Think, Free To Be
The Killers - Dustland Fairytale / Forget About What I Said (picture disc)

10"
Brandon Flowers - Crossfire

LPs
Manual - Drowned In Light
Pubic Image Ltd - Album (180 gram)
Sepultura - Arise (Brazilian pressing)
Bane - It All Comes Down To This

Sad Robot Pancake Arm

A robot learning to flip pancakes from Sylvain Calinon on Vimeo.

Pre-Williamsburg Smash! Run

Prior to my yearly trip to Williamsburg to run sound for Tidewater area high school graduations, I always pick up my friend Derek from the Chinatown bus.  Then we both head down there for 4-5 days and then watch like 3,000 kids graduate.  It's a... blast.  But I have a really good time with Derek and we pretty much just hang out and talk about zombie movies and this year, Lost.  Man did we talk a lot about Lost!  But prior to the pickup, I had a couple of free hours on my hands and I decided to use it at my favorite DC record store, Smash!  Got lots of great stuff and left a bunch of incredible 7"s up on the wall that I didn't see until after I was already checking out.  Seriously need to go back for the Bane and Converge 7"s.  Really hope no one snags them in the meantime... One of the best things about Smash is that they really have a lot of what you're looking for, if you're looking for specific stuff.  Like, if you want to pick up a bunch of really great 70's and 80's soundtrack albums in really great condition, you are in luck! Or perhaps some obscure metalcore from the 90's... or the next Judas Priest LP to continue to round out your collection.  That's what that store is, a great collection rounder outer.  So when I go, it is with that purpose... and to get a few ridiculous things that I probably won't get anywhere else... so here goes...

FULL LENGTHS:

The Lost Boys OST
The Goonies OST
The Elms Street Group - Freddy's Greatest Hits (this is pretty out of control awesome)
Judas Priest - Point of Entry
Grade - Headfirst Straight to Hell (picture disc)
New Order - Brotherhood
Majority Rule - Interviews with David Frost (new)

12"

New Order - Confusion
U2 - even better than the REAL THING
U2 - Lemon Remixes (gold/lemon vinyl)

7"

Overcast/Arise - Split
Drowningman - Weighted and Weighed Down
Crispus Attucks - Yo Peho!
Outspoken - The Current
Prince - When Doves Cry
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - War
J.A.M. '86 Jersey Artists For Mankind - We've Got The Love (got this on LP and 7" now! Psyched!)
George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
The Knack - Good Girls Don't

Cause It's Been Too Long!

Been like 6 months! Can't believe this list actually includes some Christmas gets and wintertime purchases. Since then, I haven't been out to that many record stores locally, but I managed to do Long In The Tooth in Philadelphia, Just Play Music in Santa Barbara, and got to walk into one of the Amoeba's in San Francisco, but didn't have time to shop. Super upset that I didn't get back to the LA Amoeba. I want to move there just for that. Also to note, the best pancakes I've had this year so far would go to Ella's in San Francisco - blueberry mascarpone. Deal with THAT! My only complaint was that they weren't packed with nearly enough bluuuubs, but the mascarpone made me forget with each bite. And I got them with some rocking blood orange juice. Coffee was average. Cakes at Izzy's in Santa Monica weren't half bad too. I continue to search for that illusive perfect pancake with perfect coffee/espresso restaurant. When I find that, I move to that. Done Deal/Deal Done. Especially if there is a record store next door... that is run by a man named Adam M. And I run the breakfast place. And we both run the used flip flop stand in the basement. I bought some records...

Full Lengths/EPs/etc:
Telekinesis! - S/T
Nada Surf - If I Had a Hi-Fi
Prince - LA Sports Arena 1989 (but really '88)
Prince - The Beautiful Experience (Sealed)
Majority Rule - Emergency Numbers
Fripp & Eno - Evening Star
The Philadelphia Sound - Various
Prince - Rave un2 the Joy Fantastic
Brian Eno - Test Press of Apollo: Atmosphers and Soundtracks
Corrosion of Conformity - Technocracy
Anthrax - Among The Living
Volcano Choir - Unmap
We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
M83 - Digital Shades [vol. I]
Coldplay - Prospekts March
Miles Davis - Nefertiti
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - S/T


12"
Pet Shop Boys - Left To My Own Devices
U2 - When Love Comes To Town
New Order - True Faith
Prince Mix #1 w/ Batdance, Good vs. Evil on Side 1 and "The Ultimate Prince Mega-mix on side 2 - Not sure if this is legit or what...
The Killers - When You Were Young (my second copy)

10"
Killing Joke - Follow the Leaders

7"
U2 - Angel of Harlem
Telekinesis - Dirty Thing
Japandroids - Art Czars
Season To Risk/Starkweather - Split
H2O - SEVENINCH (I know Why/Temperature)
Pet Shop Boys - Left To My Own Devices
Men At Work - Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive

End Of The Year Accounting

Got a few records for Christmas.

Elmo Williams & Hezekiah Early - Takes One To Know One
Jelly Roll Kings - Off Yonder Wall
Asie Payton - Worried

Fat Possum for Christmas is awesome. The one I was really looking forward to was Elmo & Hezekiah, but the best one turned out to be Asie Payton. I'm not sure exactly how I went this long without getting into him, but I'm happy I could get it corrected. Plus, free sticker and a button. And my mom decided she wasn't going to keep them for herself. Yeah!

New Year's Eve I decided to do a thrift store run-through. It had been probably over a month since I'd gone to any thrift store, which is pretty much an eternity for me. And I was rewarded pretty well. Got a few Queen records in very good condition, a few Elton John records, the second Terry Reid, and a few others that are inessential but good to have, like a couple Wings albums and Lou Reed's Transformer, things like that. At one place I found a copy of Them's second album. It's not in great shape, but it's a pretty unusual find for a thrift store. It would be a good find in a record store, so there was no way I was leaving it there. And I also found Yessongs. I was excited about that, however, I wouldn't call my search for Yessongs over. The cover on this one is terribly water-damaged, though the vinyl looks to be in okay playable shape. It'll be better once I dust it off. I'll still be keeping my eyes open for it, but this copy will tide me over until I can find one in better shape and including the booklet.

Then, fun news to go along with this, with the additions of the thrift store run to my spreadsheet I have exceeded 1000 albums. In actuality I did that a while ago because, almost two years since I started the spreadsheet, I still haven't entered my classical albums into it. So, that only took 13 or 14 years. Let's make it 2000 by 33.

Seven Inchers Galore

Decided to use a $20 gift certificate and the $20 i had from my frequent buyer card to raid the Last Vestige 7" bin. Right before I went over to it, I had about 10-15 jazz/prog records in my arms (brand x, billy cobham, etc.), but they all went back once I found the REM. Here goes:

7 INCHERS
REM - Tongue (Limited Edition 1995 Tour Souvenir)
REM - Crush With Eyeliner (Limited Edition Calendar, Orange Vinyl)
Pearl Jam - Off He Goes
Love Battery - Foot (green, sub pop singles club #37)
Bruce Springsteen - I'm Going Down
Echo & The Bunnymen - Bedbugs and Ballyhoo
Weird Al Yankovic - Like A Surgeon
Men At Work - Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Dreaming
The Outfield - All The Love In The World
Eurythmics - There Must Be An Angel (playing with my heart)
INXS - What You Need
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam - Little Jackie Wants To Be A Star
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - If You Were A Priest
Handsome - Swimming/Can't Connect (sub pop '95)
Sister Double Happiness - Don't Worry/Wheels A' Spinning (sub pop '90)
Ithaca/The Color Turning - Split
Carrison - The Bend Before The Break
The Raymond Brake - New Wave Dream

Totally taking chances with that last bunch, but they were mostly a dollar, so worth a shot. Lots of Sub Pop singles in the bunch. Just reviewed their discography online and I am now realizing that I left a couple from the singles club back in the bin - Green Magnet School and Gorilla... there were like four copies of the Green Magnet school though and I never really got into them when I checked them out waaaay like a year ago, so I'm not too stressed about it. What I am stressed about is the possibility of not making it to the Albany location tomorrow on my way out of town, sadly, to go back home. Total Bummer. I really like it here in Saratoga for sure and if only I could spend a few more hours searching through bins, completely void of outside world thoughts. That is The Brilll (with three els). Oh, one more Vinyl to add:

David Sylvian - Gone To Earth (double import)

Been meaning to get into him for ages now and the Frippage on their will hopefully help.

Future post coming up in the next day or so: records I got for Christmas. Have I mentioned that it has been a good trip?