Tuesday, March 24, 2009

International Record Shop Day April 18th 2009



I love record shops. They are one of my favorite places to spend time. When I say record shop I mean local record stores not huge chains. I have seen the rise and fall of Our Price (where I once worked), Fopp (well most of them) and Virgin/Zavvi(eaten alive by HMV) in the last five years or so. Bath used to have a great collection of record shops from the second hand vinyl treasure trove (Nashers, 10:15), indie chains (Replay and Reckless) and chains (two Our Price, two Fopp, MVC). All that is left is a terrible HMV, a wonderful specialist Jazz shop Broad Street Jazz and a cool shop flogging dance music on vinyl - Drop Records.

I mention all this because of International Record Shop Day. A day to celebrate the wonder of the record shop.

"This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Franscisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April."

There will be all manner of goodies on sale on the day including limited edition 7" vinyl, The Flaming Lips, Mute Math, Oasis and Green Day!

There is a list of the stores in the UK taking part here: Record Store Day UK

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Time Travel with Wire Magazine








I had a great find on Sunday in Lyme Regis in Dorset. In the Sanctuary bookshop I discovered a huge bundle of old copies of Wire.

For the sum of £15.00 I have four years of the magazine to work through reading reviews, interview and generally running backwards through time and electronic music.

First couple I have read through have had a great interview with Mark Hollis,Disco Inferno and a wonderful piece on John Oswald and The Grateful Dead/John Oswald Grayfolded which I have since downloaded from emusic.

All great stuff. I am in magazine heaven.

Monday, March 02, 2009

88 Albums - If You Think Radiohead’s Kid A is Weird, Then You Should Really Hunt This Music Down



This list is from the Paul Morley's Book - Words and Music

It is a list of albums he recomends you find if you start a conversion about what makes music weird "...and then after the weirdness - what happens, what changes, whats goes on, whats the point.."

I have created a Spotify Playlist from the selections though not all the LP are listed on spotify and not all the artist are available either, I have just dropped in tracks and not completely LPS but its a great starting point.

There is a second list which I will try and do this week.

If You Think Kid A Is Weird - One

This is the list below.

Thanks to Rocklists for saving me the time typing this our

88 Albums - If You Think Radiohead’s Kid A is Weird, Then You Should Really Hunt This Music Down

“After you have listened to at least twenty-two of the following, then perhaps you can begin a discussion, with Kylie or her ghostwriter, about just what makes music weird, and then – after the weirdness – what happens, what changes, what goes on, what’s the point – is it just a pleasure listening to weirdness that is just straightforward pleasure, or is the weirdness making the world, you mind, your mind in the world, a better place thing space capsule container mind room, etc… ?”

There is an order to the following – the order that it comes in, which I thought about short and hard. I was delighted with the order. It worked perfectly…

o Lindsay, Arto – Subtle Body
o Bailey, Derek – Guitar, Drums ‘n’ Bass
o Frith, Fred Guitar Quartet – Ayaya Moses
o Niblock, Phill – Four Full Flutes
o Scott, Raymond – Manhattan Research Inc
o Branca, Glenn – Symphony No 3 (Gloria)
o Palestine, Charlemagne – Strumming Music
o Satoh, Somei – Incarnation II
o Yellow Magic Orchestra – Technodelic
o Fullman, Ellen – Body Music
o Oliveros, Pauline – Suspended Music
o Partch, Harry - Collection Vol 1
o Cowell, Henry – Piano Music
o Zorn, John – Spillane
o Faust – So Far
o Fripp, Robert – That Which Passes
o Pan Sonic – A
o Budd, Harold – Lovely Thunder
o Incredibly Strange Music Vol 1 (Various Artists)
o Cage, John – Indeterminacy
o Rich & Lustmord – Stalker
o Borden, David – Continuing Story of Counterpoint Parts 1-4
o Nikolais, Alwin – Electronic Dance Music
o Johnston, Ben – Music for Piano
o Butler, Ken – Voices of Anxious Objects
o Harrison, Lou – Rhymes with Silver
o Vangelis – L’Apocalypse des Animaux
o Cyberchump – Dreams Groove
o Reed, Lou – Metal Machine Music
o Kruth, John – Cherry Electric
o Subotnick, Milton – Silver Apples of the Moon
o Lustmord – Place Where the Black Stars Hang
o Labradford – E Luxo So
o Hassell, Jon – Surgeon of the Nightsky Restores Dead Things by the Power of Sound
o Young, La Monte – Trio for Strings
o Supersilent – Supersilent 4
o Nyman, Michael – Decay Music
o Swswthrght – Essence or Residue
o Ashely, Robert – In Sara Mencken Christ & Beethoven There Were Men & Women
o Carlos, Wendy – Sonic Seasonings
o Residents – Duck Stab
o Sonic Youth – Goodbye 20th Century
o Fennesz – Endless
o Stockhausen, Karlheinz – Kontakte
o Mad Professor – Psychedelic Dub: Dub Me Crazy Part 10
o Varese, Edgard – Arcana/Ameriques/Ionisation
o Parker, Evan – Breaths & Heartbeats
o Fila Brazillia – Maim That Tune
o King Crimson – Larks Tongues in Aspic
o Magma – Live
o Arvo Pärt – Tabula Rasa
o Holland, Dave Quartet – Conference of the Birds
o Can – Tago Mago
o Art Ensemble of Chicago – Bop Tizum
o Hendrix, Jimi – Are You Experienced?
o Ligeti, Gyorgy – Lux Aetena
o Pablo, Augustus – King Tubby Meets Roots Rockers Uptown
o Sun Ra – Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
o Björk – Selmasongs
o Peach Orchard – In Order to Survive
o Conrad, Tony/La Monte Young/John Cale – Inside the Dream Syndicate Vol 1
o Ribot, Marc – Saints
o Towner, Ralph – Sounds & Shadows
o Sylvian, David/Holgar Czukay – Plight & Premonition
o Cabaret Voltaire – Conversation
o Grateful Dead – Dark Star
o Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
o Throbbing Gristle – In the Shadow of the Sun
o Nurse with Wound – Spiral Insana
o Hassell, Jon/Brian Eno – Fourth World Vol 1: Possible Musics
o Henry Cow – Concerts
o Moss, David – Dense Band
o Eno, Brian – Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
o Pere Ubu – Dub Housing
o Palestine, Charlemagne – Schlingen Blangen
o Scriabin, Alexander – Preparation for the Final Mystery
o Takemitsu, Toru – Quotation of a Dream
o Mouse on Mars – Autoditacker
o Feldman, Morton – Crippled Symphony
o Frith, Fred – Clearing
o Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace
o Russell, George – Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved
o Mitchell, Roscoe Sextet – Sound
o Coltrane, John – Meditations
o Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece – 1970-73
o Walker, Scott – Tilt
o Momus – 20 Vodka Jellies
o Mantler, Michael – Beckett/No Answer