TVD is a proud supporter of Greater Manchester’s finest, Shell Zenner. Shell broadcasts the best new music every Thursday at 9pm and Sundays at 5pm on Salford City Radio. You can also catch her on Wednesday at 12am (ET) and Saturdays at 8pm (ET) on 90.3 WXLV Radio, US on wxlvradio.
Starting today you can also tune into Shell’s radio show from the comfort of your office cubicle each and every Thursday at The Vinyl District.
And of course you’d assume Shell’s got a thing for vinyl, right?
Something Old, Something New, Something Blue?
Hello fellow lovers of the vinyl persuasion! Well, its been a long time since I last checked in, but my vinyl addiction has not waned in the meantime you will be pleased to hear. I’ve just been a little busy on the radio front after doubling up my hours across two different stations. As for the title of this blog, no I’ve not got married! It just seems very apt for the vinyl I have to talk about at the moment.
When a friend said on Twitter said he was selling some of his old vinyl for cash, I immediately asked him what he was selling. He promptly sent a list over and three classics called out to me straight away. After seeing The Smiths – ‘The Queen Is Dead’ released again in a special form for Record Store Day but deeming it a touch too expensive, I managed to pick up a vintage copy. I also managed to purchase The Smiths – ‘The Smiths’ too. I’m not sure if they are the first pressings but I’m not too concerned. The sleeves were worn but still in a pretty good condition which pleases me somewhat.
I also picked up Ride – ‘Leave Them All Behind’. I’m a sucker for this band, this song, and indeed this vinyl if my record collection is to be believed. Yes, I realised tonight that this purchase was my second of this particular vinyl… whoops!
My new vinyl purchases are a range of 7” and 12”s. I picked up a tonne of merch from The Pains of Being Pure At Heart’s latest show, including two 7” singles ‘Belong’ and ‘Heart In Your Heartbreak’. The Pains always have pretty releases, complimented by attractive artwork and photos and colourful vinyl, and so I’m always happy to spend a few pounds on them. This time I managed to pick up their latest LP ‘Belong’ in two different formats, a gorgeous turquoise LP and also the first of its kind, an mp3 player button badge. Charge it up through your USB port, pin it to your jacket and plug in your headphones and you’re off. Amazing idea! How the music industry moves on an incredible pace?!
I also managed to pick up a couple of releases from two local buzz bands. I purchased Stay +’s (formerly known as Christian Aids) debut single released through Double Denim Records. The single was actually called Stay + so makes sense as to why they’ve changed their name to match.
Their sound on this release has been described as Salem meets Underworld and personally, I wouldn’t argue with that. Brown Brogues, on the other hand, recently supported The Kills on some of their UK shows. I picked up their ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ release from a gig and it’s brimming over with ace lo-fi punk vibes. One things for sure, there are some exciting things going on musically in Greater Manchester at the moment and I can’t wait to see what the coming year will bring.
Talking of The Kills though, I decided to pick up their latest album ‘Blood Pressures’ on vinyl, despite downloading the digital version from itunes on the day of release. Despite what anyone else says, the lure of a heavyweight green vinyl was just too much to bear—its absolutely gorgeous!
You take the girl out of the city, but she still does EXACTLY the same. Yep, when I decamped to Brighton for the annual Great Escape festival and whilst milling around the pebbly beach and venues around the city, I managed to purchase ‘Dum Dum Girls – ‘He Gets Me High’ and ‘Wild Beasts – Smother’, both completely poles apart musically but equally awesome releases.
Whilst I adore buying vinyl, I don’t buy everything on vinyl simply because there are certain records that I won’t listen to in that set up. I see my vinyl playing as a chilled affair, sofa, candles, incense, fairy lights… that kind of thing. So you will probably see from the records that I buy the recurring theme of chilled records that you can literally sprawl out and enjoy. That can definitely be said for Tame Impala – ‘Innerspeaker’ with its gorgeous psych sounds and artwork, Crystal Stilts – ‘In Love With Oblivion’ a retro feeling album which whilst having a black and white outer, has a stunning colourful pattern of TJ’s paisley print shirt on the inside. Finally, the breathtaking vinyl colour of ‘Ringo Deathstarr – Sparkler’ which quite rightly is blue, sky blue.. or cloud in its effect.
Purchasing or receiving vinyl is a constant thrill. You may know what you’re getting in terms of the music, but it’s the excitement of opening that package to see exactly what artwork, lyrics, photos and vinyl are contained within..I feel like a kid at Christmas again!
