Author Archives: Mike Newman

One of NYC’s premier independent record shops, In Living Stereo (which also doubles as a broker for high-end hi-fi equipment) has a doozy of a day planned for this Saturday, 4/20…also known as Record Store Day.

Of course, RSD offers a lot of goings-on from lots of our favorites indie shops, for which in NYC we are lucky enough to have several, but In Living Stereo has a lineup not to be missed! Of course they will be carrying almost all of the RSD specials along with their usual immaculately curated gems…plus some great DJ and live band action.

Dig the schedule:
12PM – 2PM: DJ Niall Van Dyke from Newtown Radio’s The Continuous Mammal
2PM – 3PM: Alex Bleeker & the Freaks live set
3PM – 4PM: Prince Rupert’s Drops live set

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The BBiB Record Club has been going down in NYC / Brooklyn regularly (almost monthly) for the past 3.5 years and we’d like to invite you and a friend to the next one at Masterdisk on 4/20! Yeah, that’s Record Store Day…so, how fitting?

That’s right, the super sonic sultans of Masterdisk are hosting the Record Club in April and we’re totally psyched for it! If you think records sound good listening to them in your living room on a modest hi-fi setup, then you’re gonna be in Sonic Valhalla at Masterdisk.

If you don’t know about Masterdisk, it is one of the most famous independent mastering studios in the world. One of the projects they just finished is the vinyl master for the new Bowie album and they have some of the nicest sounding listening rooms you can find this side of the Ganges. So, yeah.

(Check out TVD’s 6-week series with Masterdisk’s Scott Hull on the fine art of mastering. —Ed.)

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New vinyl-centric Brooklyn label, Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records saw its first release in November with the excellent full-length debut from Prince Rupert’s Drops, Run Slow.

Since then, the imprint has released an LP from Finnish psychedelic band Kiki Pau, and this month, a debut EP from LA psych-Kraut jammers JJUUJJUU, and a split 10″ EP between New England psych-folk masters MMOSS and Quilt which comes out April 23rd. Take a look at some of BBiB Records’ sweet vinyl packaging over at their Big Cartel shop.

Four months after its first release, Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records is now officially ready to throw a big label launch party, and what better way to do it then with 3 bands on the label’s roster? I’ll tell you a better way…with 3 roster bands and YOU and your FPO! I just made that up…FPO = Favorite +1.

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The Great GoogaMooga food, drink and music festival is returning to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on May 17th-19th after its rocky inaugural launch last Spring. Brought to you by Superfly Presents, the great festy minds behind the uber-successful Bonnaroo, the Great GoogaMooga can stand to learn from some of last year’s mistakes and has the opportunity to knock it out of the park this year.

Last year’s first GoogaMooga saw some issues with food supply, extremely long lines, and general confusion, which was all mostly a problem on the first day. But by the second day they had already nipped the major issues in the bud and with Hall & Oates closing out the weekend-long affair, the first GoogaMooga came off a relative success.

This year, it looks like the Great GoogaMooga is ready to take the food and drink-centric festival to the next level. Like last year, there will be free tickets for those who register for them during a small window between April 1st and 3rd. And there will also be a purchasable VIP ticket for you high-rollers called the VIP Cocktail Experience, which gains you Main Stage viewing, entrance to cocktail bars and seminars, and access to the VIP-Only entrance lane.

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The second release from Brooklyn’s newest and greatest label Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records is a beautiful sprawling modern masterpiece from Finnish psych band Kiki Pau. With four songs over 43 minutes, Pines is a departure from the type of music that Kiki Pau made on their first two albums.

Says Kiki Pau’s Henrik Domingo: “As for influences, lately its been about nuances and finding different ways of making sound, so we’ve listened to a lot of jazz, experimental, electronic, and ‘ethnic’ music etc. I’ve grown a bit tired of rock music and playing loud and so I feel have the other guys as well. We really tried to not to think of any references while making this record, so it was more like ‘hey this next part should sound like a thunderstorm in a desert and the next part a forest full of animals’, just childlike stuff.”

As president of Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records, when I first heard this music in the summer of 2012 via Kiki Pau’s Bandcamp page, I knew I would love to get it pressed to vinyl…the way something so beautiful and amazing should be heard. And now that it’s immortalized in wax, the world is being turned on to Kiki Pau’s Pines…

“…with woodwinds, hand drums, and guitar twang tracing links between pagan rituals under the midnight sun and Indian ashrams half a world away.”
—SPIN

“Pines is their third LP and the first to really make it’s way over to our shores – good thing too, ‘cuz we’re probably gonna be spinning this one a lot! This one is the total package too – beautiful cover art and groovy green vinyl, plus the LP was mixed by Dungen’s Gustav Ejstes so you KNOW it sounds great too. A real surprise and a definite contender for Top Ten lists here at the shop! RECOMMENDED!” – Permanent Records Chicago

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Light in the Attic Records has yet again knocked it out of the park in the rare hidden gems department. Of course they do some of the absolute best vinyl reissues by any label these days, but in this case it’s a first edition of a solo album by original Sam the Sham and the Pharaoh’s axeman, Ray Stinnett.

I got the opportunity to chat with Ray via Skype about his journey from Wooly Bully stardom at the young age of 21, to his San Franciscan spiritual awakening, to his friendship with Booker T., to having a family, and to recording what should have been a classic 1971 album on A&M Records. But also luckily for us, we have the opportunity 42 years later to unwrap these brilliantly-crafted, sunny countrified folk-rock soul tunes as if they were virgin ditties. And on virgin vinyl with fantastic packaging by LITA, as always.

So, sit back and take a listen to my interview with Ray. He’s a super-cool cat. Plus there are some great songs interspersed throughout so you can get a taste of the record. AND Ray even performs “Liberty Train” live on-the-spot towards the end. It’s amazing, I tell ya!

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Hey, I just heard a great new album. And I scored an extra one for one of you! The band’s name is Beat Mark and here’s their deal…

“Beat Mark are one of a few French bands to strike with the noisy pop spirit of contemporary U.S. music (from MGMT to Dum Dum Girls), who don’t hide their mid-80s to mid-90s English influences. Their sound has been described as nuggets of The Vaselines, and The Television Personalities with a few drops of The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Stone Roses, and Primal Scream. Some have even evoked My Bloody Valentine.

Whatever, the mix, the 2 boys and 2 girls of Beat Mark from Paris have created a full-length album that has a raw and instantly refreshing new sound. Who would have thought the French could be so chic hot.”

“Ample Play Records’ co-owner Tjinder Singh of Cornershop remembers, ‘While I was in Paris – during a heat wave – a friend took me to a café and little record shop in a small hilly street just North of Canal St. Martin. He asked the owner of the record shop to play Beat Mark and I realized that I was listening to what England had lost the ability to create anymore, what’s more, it was a whole album of that stuff, an album of songs that immediately moves in with you.'”

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“Bruno and I met working at a record store. Go figure!”

“I had moved to New York at nineteen to go to art school, and found a job at Kim’s on St. Marks. Before I had met him I had seen a drawing on the counter of a frog smoking a cigar on a bicycle and I had asked about it and the other guy working there was like “You are going to love Bruno” and I did! He showed up and was playing Seeds records and we watched a bunch of Beavis and Butthead bootlegs and became best friends”

My first record was a seven-inch—I sent away for when I was 15 or so, by this cutesy punk band The Peechees. Actually, I don’t like a lot of the punk stuff I listened to when I was younger, but I can still get behind that band. My brother used to DJ house music and therefore had expensive turntables and when he would be out, I’d sneak in and try to mix like, Fugazi and Shellac together, hahaha. I am dumb.”
—Leslie Stein, vocals/guitar

Not only do I recommend this show because I’ll be DJing at it, but also take a look at the bill!

Of course Psychic Ills are an NYC mainstay whose music continues to live and breathe and evolve over the last several years. And their excellent new album, One Track Mind, out on February 19th on Sacred Bones Records, will be available early at tonight’s Bowery Ballroom show.

Then you’ve got White Hills, who bring the spaced-out heavy motorik jams alive with full-on ferocity and finesse. White Hills are another NYC band whose musical evolution is always interesting to watch.

And then there’s the amazing Prince Rupert’s Drops who have been receiving lots of attention lately from their highly regarded debut album, Run Slow on Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records.

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We all get our vinyl by any means necessary, don’t we? We visit our local shops, we trade with friends, and of course we do plenty of mail-ordering. Whether it be from one of our favorite small independent labels or from eBay or Discogs, mail-order is a big part of our vinyl consumption, allowing us to reach out to all corners of the world to score just the record we were looking for.

Well, new postal rates went into effect on January 27th, and though they don’t change much for domestic shipping, rates have sky-rocketed for overseas shipping. And as co-owner of a small record label, which has plenty of overseas orders, I’m definitely feeling the strain. For example, before January 27th, shipping a record and vinyl tote bag to Finland cost approximately 13 dollars. Now it costs over 18 dollars!

Anyway, dig this story NPR just did on the rising postal costs and their effects on small labels. Read the comments section too if you’re at all interested in this story. Runs the full gamut. Here’s the audio from the NPR piece:

I guess what it really translates to is that customers will have to pay really high shipping fees for records shipped overseas, which could dissuade them from purchasing that way in the future.

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I know this is The VINYL District, but a lot of us vinyl cats are into cassettes too! So I wanted to hip you to the fact that the great garage-rockin’ label, Burger Records, is releasing a tape a day in January!

They’re dubbing it “A Tape a Day, Okay?” and it features cassettes from such artists as Ty Segall/Mikal Cronin, Nobunny, Gris Gris, Zig Zags, Painted Hills, and even the Masters of Reality! In fact, here’s the schedule…

And while you’re over there at Burger’s website ordering some tapes, pre-order yourself one (or all) of the three, great vinyl releases that they’ve got coming out soon!

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TVD’s Record Score is brought to you by TVD NYC’s own Mike Newman, who recently scored some great records and is now intent on sharing them with you. New stuff and old stuff, straight from the vinyl to your ears!

We’ll always provide links in the playlist where you can score the records online, but always remember to hit up your local independent record store!

The playlist for this sixth edition of the Record Score podcast follows after the jump. Hope you dig!

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Behold the mighty Foxygen. If you’ve not yet heard this amazing young group, then right now is your lucky moment.

I first heard them on their Bandcamp page in late 2011 and was instantly in love with their brilliant music. I invited them on my East Village Radio show in early 2012 and we had a gay old time! Jagjaguwar signed them up in the meantime and officially issued their amazing self-made LP, Take the Kids Off Broadway, and the world sang their praises in unison!

What we have above is the video for the song, “San Francisco” from Foxygen’s new album, We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, out January 22nd on Jag. So let’s just stop talking and enjoy this very pleasurable song and video…