Why are we pushing this in-store performance of Black Telephone down your throat? Aside from the fact that you’ll enjoy the show because they are sweet indie rock band, it might be your last chance to see them.
Starting Crooked Beat’s own Holly Tegeler, Black Telephone also features Thom Collier of Bellman Barker on a drum machine and Rory Carroll, who is moving to San Francisco and the reason why the band is calling it quits. THANKS RORY! Let’s throw tiny paper planes at him while they perform for the second to last time at Crooked Beat, tonight at 7pm. Oh, so I mentioned it might be your last chance to see them, that is, unless you’re heading to The Lodge aka Holly and Thom’s living room, on May 14th.
It’s spring and all the little birdie’s are a’singing. Don’t miss out on the couple of in-store performances hosted by Red Onion Records and Crooked Beat coming up in the next couple of weeks.
First, up at Red Onion Records, San Francisco noise-maker Horafloraand some surprise guests will perform on Mother’s day, Sunday May 8th, time TBA.
Listen up, fans of Fleet Foxes, if you’ve been waiting for the release of Helplessness Blues, the second album due out May 3 on Subpop, you’ll be able to find it at Crooked Beat. The double-LP comes with a fold-out poster and the vinyl has a download code for a high quality mp3 version of the album. Oh, and did I mention it’s on deliciously creamy white vinyl? You can order it online or give the store a call to find out if when it’s in stock. (202) 483-2328
FOR AN EPIC METAL SUMMER
If you’ve got a feeling you’re summer’s going to be pretty metal, it’s time to fill some holes in it’s soundtrack. Neal, the owner of SOM Records on 14th St. NW will be returning from Florida with a bunch of heavy metal LP’s including:
Iron Maiden – Sanctuary 12″ with the banned Margaret Thatcher cover
V/A – The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
GET FUCKED UP!
Josh from Red Onion is returning for Southern VA with some funky finds including a bunch of High School Band LPs where they do funky covers of songs from the 70s and some great new titles arecoming in next week including the new Oh Sees!! AND, they’ve got the Buy Early Get Now version of the new Fucked Up album.
Here are some details:
Instant download of 5 non-album songs plus the pre-album digital singles as MP3s on April 26.
A full 192k album stream and hi-quality album download in 4 parts over 4 days from May 10-13.
I almost missed this show. Not sure if I was up for another night out, after a weekend of little sleep, I could have easily curled up on the couch and watched some X-Files (yes, I’m a nerd.) Reason number two that I am a nerd—this was my first time at the newly combined Red Palace, which has quickly become one of my new favorite places to see a show because it is intimate, comfortable and has great sound.
I arrived in the middle of Young Prisms’ set. Dreamy, neo-shoegaze from San Francisco, Young Prisms do not have a sunny stage presence. Matt Allen and Jason Hendardy’s swooning guitars pay obvious homage to My Bloody Valentine, while Stefanie’s vocals Slowdive into a misty Icelandic lagoon with vapors that rise into clouds over the crowd.
She is rather listless, hiding behind hipster bangs and an over-sized jean jacket. She swayed to the blissful mist of sound coming from her own lips like she was confused that she was singing at all. There was something kind of awkward about her that left me a bit disenchanted by the performance. I have not had a chance to give their full length LP Friends for Now (2011) a proper listen, but the MP3’s I have streamed are all lovely and worth exploring, but I don’t think I’d go see them again.
The Crocodiles should headline every show they play. They know how to rock the fuck out and guitarist, Charles Rowell, likes to show off. Yet another band from California, Crocodiles steal the darker shades of the California sun to flame the Spacemen 3/Jesus and Mary Chain meets Monks/Cramps noise-pop they have perfected.
Crystal Stilts blow my freaking mind each time I see them. This being third time I’ve seen them at the Black Cat, I wondered how they could top their last performance at the Slumberland Records Anniversary.
It might be because I am a superfan, but Crystal Stilts have proven to me that they are the kind of band that like a fine wine and an even finer woman, keeps improving with age. Their pulsing stage quality continues to crystallize with each performance, and aside from being drunk before they took to the stage, I was, as their most current album suggests, In Love with Oblivion.
Yesterday, while working our weekly shift at Crooked Beat, Jourdan and I had a bit of a High Fidelity moment. We put on the new Peter Bjorn and John, Gimme Some, and everyone in the store wanted some of that. We could have sold 5 copies if we had them in stock.
Sadly, the one behind the counter was not priced, and if it’s not priced, sorry buddy, it’s not for sale yet. You can probably convince Bill to sell it to you if you run in today to grab it. Anyway, I kept commenting on how poppy the album is and how I’m a sucker for that sort of thing. Another dude in the store remarked that is was very New Order. I didn’t get a chance to listen to the whole LP, but it sounded pretty decent, though not as good as Writer’s Block. Check out the track below and see what you think.
I had a chance to chat with Art Brut’sEddie Argos about Axl Rose, Top of the Pops, working with Frank Black, and his unfortunate non-engagement to Helen Love. Art Brut’s fourth LP Brilliant! Tragic! is their second album to be produced by Francis Black of the Pixies. It will be released May 24th on Cooking Vinyl / The End Records. The first single “Lost Weekend” was premiered a few days ago.
“With the last album we’d just remembered we were a punk band again so it was all four to the floor rock out. This time there are a few songs to let you catch your breath so when we do rock the fuck out again it hits home harder.”
TVD: Given that you have the talented illustrator Jamie McKelvie create the cover art for your new album, and given your love of comics and rock & roll, have you read his fine work in Phonogram? If so, what did you think of it?
Eddie: I loved it, yeah, it’s funny because I read Phonogram, the first one a few years ago. I liked getting that comic because it reminded me of home. I was friends with Luke Haines, who’s in the comic, and Lipstick on Your Collar. There are lots of things mentioned in it I know a lot about so it’s got a nice thing to have, when I’m away from home. I think I even reviewed it, no I wrote a blurb on the back of it, the second one. So, yeah, I love Phonogram.
Phonogram demonstrated an enormous love and admiration for Luke Haines, the dark lord of British pop. You have worked with him in the Black Arts and The English Traveling Wilburys. Do you have any plans to work with him again?
Yeah, I’d love to. We always joke about doing a whole English Traveling Wilburys album. I live in Berlin now, and I’m only back in London for the week, so yeah, I’d love to work on something again. It would be so much fun because, he’s just a good guy, you know? I love his solo albums, it’s kinda cool that we ended up becoming friends.
What draws you to his music?
Well, quite obviously I’m a man that likes lyrics quite a lot. He writes some of my favorite lyrics. And it’s weird, you know, a lot of people have gotten into Luke Haines because of The Auteurs, but I got it backwards, I got into his first solo album and thought, “this is amazing, what else has this man done?”
Why do you cherish Top of the Pops so much?
What I liked about Top of the Pops is sort of what a mixed bag it was, you know? You’d have a boy band playing next to Nirvana. It was exciting to see who was selling the most singles that week or who was the biggest new entry. It ended up being quite a mix of things. That’s the other thing, there’s nothing on T.V. that shows a broad range of music for a half hour. I loved it, I was exposed to so many things. I never really loved footie or anything, either. I didn’t have a sports thing I could follow, like a league. Pop music was that for me, “Pulp, they’re going to climb to the top of the charts.” Top of the Pops was like a sport for me.
On your blog, you reference Helen Love and Teen Anthems. Both bands make references in various songs to Top of the Pops. Coincidence or is there some psychic connection there?
Helen Love was one of the first bands I really got into. I like collecting things, she put out lots of colored vinyl, lots of sparkly vinyl. She only played like 2 or 3 times, and I was lucky enough to go to one of those shows, actually, on Valentine’s day in London, in like 1999, I think. I was in the front, and I proposed to her; I was drunk and was like “I love you” and said “Will you marry me?” and she politely said, “No.” She didn’t say like “Fuck off ” or anything. She was like “I’m really sorry, you know, you’re a bit younger than me.”
This week, we heard from Smash, Red Onion and Som Records who gave us the scoop on what’s happening in their store for RSD11.
SMASH RECORDS Like last year, PBR are sponsoring RSD2011 at Smash. This means free PBR goodies and a raffle involving some of the better PBR swag.
The following is by no means a definitive list of what Smash will have in stock, but is a peak inside the window while you wait for the big day to arrive:
The Velvet Underground : Foggy Notion/I Can’t Stand It 7″ Black Market Baby : Potential Suicide 7″ Yellow Vinyl Flogging Molly : Don’t Shut Em Down 7″ Ryan Adams and the Cardinals : Class Mythology 7″ The Civil Wars : Dance Me to the End of Love 7″ Wavves/Trash Talk Split 7″ Beady Eyes : 7″ Box Set Burn: Shall Be Judged 7′ Yellow Vinyl Quicksand : Omission 7″ Blue Vinyl Elliot : U.S. Songs Lp Gray Vinyl Youth of Today : Disengage 7″ Red Vinyl Menzingers : Chaimberlain Waits Lp Dharohar Project, Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons 10″
RED ONION RECORDS Red Onion have a comprehensive list online of what they will have in stock for Record Store Day and the list grows daily. As always, quantities are extremely limited, so be sure to get to the store bright and early!
SOM RECORDS Som won’t know until Friday what they will definitely have in stock. They will, however, give away gift certificates to random customers, so make sure you’re one of them.
Join FUNBAGS for brunch (brunchbags?…hehehe) at Pharmacy Bar in Adams Morgan this Sunday. Andy O. at the bar servin’ you up Mimosas, Bloody Marys, St. Germain Cocktails…and beer.
For this special occasion, Pharmacy will be SERVING BREAKFAST from 12-4pm, including Egg Cassarole, bacon!,(possibly) fruit salad, and pancakes served by trouble maker Matty Pabst.
Spinning: rockandroll / punk / garage / bubblegum / glam / old & new jamz
Indie Disco of epic proportions. Dance jams of the past and present: Effervescent dance beats / Indie / Mash-ups / Electro / Bubblegum pop anthems / New Wave / Britpop / Whateverthehellelse.
You will likely get wasted. You won’t take yourself too seriously. You might take your shirt off. Don’t get kicked out so you can: Jump around. Drink More. Bump n Grind. Get laid.
CHAD AMERICA smashing your faces with liquid libations all night long. Free. Backstage. Black Cat, Black Cat. Doors at 9:30. ALL AGES BUDDY!
Record Store Day 2011is only 8 days away, yay! Counting down the final moments, Crooked Beat has a couple in-store events next week. In addition, TVD’s What’s in Store brings you a preview of the freebie’s you may be able to walk out of Crooked Beat with on the big day.
The first 75 paying customers through the door get a RSD2011 goodie bag full of posters, CD’s, 7 inches and more. 5 lucky folks may even find a $20 gift certificate to Crooked Beat inside. AND!!!! The first 75 paying customers also get a free Crooked Beat Tote bag to carry their purchases home in. These cotton totes hold 12 LPs and make the perfect addition to any hipster tote collection.
Crooked Beat just replenished their t-shirts. For only $10, you can add this wearable must-have to your music repertoire. If you’re not one of the first lucky to grab a blue or red tote, you can purchase one for $10.
Next Tuesday April 12, Crooked Beat hosts an in-store show with Bellflur and Tereu Tereu starting at 7pm. It’s free and all ages.
Next Wednesday, April 13 Crooked Beat again hosts a local showcase of musicians including Joe Pollock, Spoon Boy and Mobius Strip.
Wednesday, bah humpday. We got ya covered, TVD here to save the day with a ticket giveaway to get you excited for your (hopefully) extended weekend.
Foster the People are making a delightful appearance at Red Palace, April 11th and we’ve got a chance for you to win a pair of tickets so your weekend continues right past a case of the Mondays into a full-blown manic state of bliss. This show has already SOLD OUT, so if you were saddened by this, cry no more kitty cat, and leave a comment below.
Foster the People first caught the attention of fans early last year with their self-released track “Pumped Up Kicks” on their website for friends to share. One fan passed it along to another, and soon enough it ended up in the hands of editors at NME, Blackbook, Nylon, and the Guardian, virally spreading not only across town but across seas. A few spins later by Sirus’ Alt Nation and KCRW, and the “outrageously catchy melody,” as the Guardian calls it, made its way to becoming the track of the summer.
To win the pair of tickets, simply leave a comment below and let us know why the they should go to you. Yes, you. The winner will be chosen this Friday (4/8) at noon.
Cue weekly mantra: As we’ve pointed out over the past few weeks (rather broken record-like) one of the happy coincidences of being The Record Store Day Blog For 2011 is that we’re afforded the opportunity to underscore one of our main themes—namely that vinyl is a contemporary medium which is thriving and more vital than it has been in some time—DJ’s, purists, and collectors notwithstanding.
So, to that end, we’re spending the next eleven weeks straight putting records into the hands of TVD readers as we count down to April 16, 2011—Record Store Day.We’ll have a giveaway for you each and every Tuesday as well as sporadic surprises throughout the forthcoming weeks.
For Week #2 we’ve got Deadmau5 4×4=12 which was just released a few weeks ago viaUltra Records.
“With huge sales figures, a GRAMMY nomination, a JUNO award for Dance Recording of the Year for his CD collection “For Lack of a Better Name,” a performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics, being the house act for MTV’s 2010 Video Music Awards, deadmau5 is a shooting star in clubland and beyond.”
The rules can’t be any easier to enter our Eleven Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways: simply leave us a comment in the comments section to the contest letting us know why you deserve to win that particular LP. Be creative, funny, incisive—whatever it takes to grab our attention.
Winners of our Tuesday giveaways will be notified upon the launch of the next giveaway and must have a mailing address within the US and Canada.
I wish I’d found Sebadoh at the age of fourteen when I was wandering the streets of Pittsburgh feeling like a dejected Lou Barlow. While he was estranged from Dinosaur Jr, I had self-evacuated from my house as a rebellious runaway. Both of us looking for some sort of approval, “started smoking pot, thought things sounded better slow,” trying to escape the battle in our brains that told us to keep running, far far away from the disconnect and disapproval we perceived.
I wish I’d found Sebadoh three years later, curled up on a sweat-stained bed in a dingy basement apartment stoned out of my mind listening to The Swans’ “The Golden Boy that was Swallowed by the Sea” on repeat, goth phase in full force. I’m glad Barlow and Lowenstein found themselves in Sebadoh because they have made some damned good music.
Eventually, I found Sebadoh in waves. The music would creep into various corners of my life, playing in the background of some band crush I never clicked with because I didn’t latch onto the whole grunge thing. I liked Nirvana, but I didn’t dive much deeper than that. I didn’t have the luxury of an older sibling to introduce me to good music, and so I relied on friends to shove sounds at me as fast and furiously as they shoved 40’s at me. They gave me punk mixes, and eventually I found Nick Cave. But sometimes, I think “Freed Pig” would loop on a tape as we drove through the night at 3 AM, over hills and through back alleys, the “bare introspection framed in melody.” We drove aimlessly until the gas ran out or we found ourselves back where we started.
Standing in line waiting to see Sebadoh, the anticipation is palpable. A strange dude in front of me in line treats me like an old friend, as if he were in the backseat of that car when I was seventeen. “Are you excited, are you ready to ROCK?” he asks. We obviously share a bond. And now, I am faced with this mysterious band that always lurked on the sidelines.
Tomorrow, Sebadoh swing through DC on a 2+ week East Coast tour to promote the re-release of 1994 classics like Bakesaleand Harmancy.
You’ll get, as Lou Barlow calls it, “Sebadoh Classic: Gaffney era… III and Bubble and Scrape.” You’ll also get lots of Lou Barlow badassery in general.
“It’s like all the songs are little dougnuts, pastries… just sitting there… in a paper bag…” Find out which ones are gonna get picked, March 26th at the Black Cat. $20 9pm. Ticketsare still available.
Iron Maiden – Sanctuary 12″ with the banned Margaret Thatcher cover
Photos: 
Tomorrow, 
