Record Store Day: The Bad

78 rpm? Seriously, pressing a record that spins at 78 rpm? I don’t fancy myself as a "record collector", I don’t buy records to preserve them, I don’t buy records as an investment, I buy records to listen to them. I suspect that most people who listen to vinyl fall into the same boat as myself, and I am fairly certain, very few have a turntable who can play a 78.

Capitol/EMI released a double single 10" featuring two stellar Beach Boys tracks, "Good Vibrations" and the mythical song from SmiLe, "Heroes and Villans". Not only would you be getting these two songs, but the vinyl also included alternate takes of the two tracks. Unfortunately, there was a catch, and a major catch at that. It was pressed at 78 RPM. What would have been at the top of my list for Record Store Day turned into a debate as to whether or not I should buy a record I will probably never play.

Aesthetically, the packaging was gorgeous; pictures couldn’t do it justice. It may even be a good conversation piece - although nobody comes over my place who has even the slightest interest in vinyl. Maybe Capitol/EMI was going for a real vintage feel, maybe even something so artsy that only the biggest hipsters could understand, because the logic behind pressing a 78 clearly goes over my head.

78's for the most part, were a World War II era staple, following the war, 45's and 33 1/3 RPM became the norm. Most tables don’t even support the speed, begging the question, why would a format that was primarily used pre-1950s, a format that is now essentially extinct, be pressed in the year 2011? It’s not as if the sound is superior, it’s not like it has some major niche market it's gravitating to, it has no advantages that I could conceive.

For a day that encourages music consumption, pressing a 78 rpm vinyl seems to achieve the opposite. It instead is promoting a useless purchase of a record for nothing more than to be a conversation piece, or to be "pretty." It’s truly a shame considering how fine the packaging was, and more importantly, how spectacular the musical material is.

Record Store Day: The Ugly

Record Store Day is a great display of greed at its finest. I was never disillusioned to the point where I believed all the bands, record labels, stores and collectors were in it for good intentions, but as each year passes, the more I realize how ugly it’s becoming.

The RSD organizers, I believe, are in it for the right reasons -to keep independent record stores alive, promote music and to push physical products. In the days leading up to RSD, numerous stores were releasing their shipments on Ebay in attempts of raking in the big bucks. The RSD organizers have limited power at best, but ensured that these stores would not be able to partake in future RSD’s. In order for a store to receive the exclusive RSD records, they need to sign a pledge ensuring that they will not sell their records before-hand and they will not place their items for sale online the day of -they can however sell the remaining stock online after RSD. From what I could tell, the majority of stores upheld the pledge and were doing the right thing. It was unfortunate however to see certain stores attempting to sell their eight dollar records for a much larger return on Ebay in the days preceding RSD.

Just like ticket scalpers, RSD has its fair share of people who are just looking to flip their purchases for insane amounts. This is one of my biggest gripes when it comes to RSD. Far too often, the psycho who wakes up at 3:00AM and waits in line is the same one who plans on grabbing every limited release and selling them for ten times the amount the next day. I saw a White Stripes 7" which cost no more than eight dollars selling on Ebay for nearly one-hundred. The respect between fans of music is far too often taking a back-seat to flashing money signs. After waiting in line for two hours, one of the store clerks relayed the message that many people were essentially saying I want one of every release -regardless of whether or not they had any interest in the music. It’s sad but true, the actual fan who has respect for the community is losing out to the prick who can’t wait to sell his loot to the die-hard fan who missed out on a number of the releases.

I may be naive, but I feel like the core intentions of RSD are genuine. I also believe that a good chunk of the people who buy these records have good intentions and are looking out for each other. However, there’s just too many who just view it as an opportunity to make some easy cash. I still love RSD, and I’m counting down the days until next years, but it has some flaws, and sadly, those flaws are inherent. We live in a greedy society, and the pigs will continue to do whatever they can to make an extra buck

Record Store Day 2011

And they say the physical music product is dying... Yesterday I went out for the fourth annual Record Store Day (RSD), and more importantly, the first time I could enjoy it to its fullest. My wallet was open and my schedule was clear. Yes, RSD was priority number one. For weeks I had it all planned out. I would run up to Vintage Vinyl in northern New Jersey at 7:30 to be there an hour before opening, after that I would drive down to my local record store which opened at 10:00 - aptly named The Record Store, and if I was still eagerly searching for records, I would head over to Hold Fast Records which opened at 11:00. Well, as they say, when you make plans, God laughs, and since I am pretty convinced Jack White is God, it was Jack White who was laughing at my plans.

As the day began, everything was going according to plan. I had arrived at Vintage Vinyl at around 7:30 - an hour before opening. However, the crowd was not as expected. Even arriving around an hour early, I was at least one-hundred people deep in the line. Definitely not a good thing considering the records I wanted most were two White Stripes singles that I figured would be tough to pick up even if I had been the fifth person in line. My RSD high was quickly becoming grounded, and frustration was setting in. Would anything be left by the time I entered the store? However, what was even crazier than being one-hundred people deep in the line, by the time the store opened, there was probably another two-hundred people behind me. Unbelievable!

The weather was cold, the line was long, and even worse, the line moved slower than the DMV. Ironically, as the crowd in the line became increasingly impatient, the friendliness also increased. Everyone in the line began to relate their musical interests and their RSD desires, complaints and thoughts. One of the greatest aspects of the record store was being brought out by this supposed gloomy situation, the sense of musical community was blooming. What could have been a miserable experience ended up being quite enjoyable. In fact, the two and a half hour wait to reach the check out felt more like an hour.

By the time I walked up to the counter to recite my list, Vintage Vinyl had quite a dent in their stock, but not quite as bad as I had expected. They were obviously out of The White Stripes singles, the live Pink Floyd album was long gone and the Nirvana EP Hormoaning was devoured by the crowds and The Bad Brain "Pay to Cum" 7" was nowhere to be seen. On the bright side, I was able to pick up The Velvet Underground "Foggy Notion" 7", The Red Hot Chili Pepers/Ramones "Havana Affair" split 7", Regina Spektor Four From Far 7", Off! "Compared to What" Tour Edition 7", An Introduction to Syd Barret 2LP 12" and the massive Omar Rodriguez Lopez Telesterion 4LP 12" with a beautiful color photo book. Not a bad group of vinyls for waiting in such a long line.

By 10:00 I knew my chances of picking up the Stripes vinyls were slim-to-none, but I still was holding out hope for the remainder of vinyls on my list. So I headed over to my local record store an hour after it opened and luckily, they still had a bit in stock. From them I nabbed the Pink Floyd live London 66/67 12" pressed on a nice white 180 gram slab of vinyl, Bob Dylan Live at Brandise and The Bad Brains "Pay to Cum". So in the end, I had only missed out on The White Stripes and Nirvana vinyls.

In the end, RSD was quite enjoyable to say the least. Even after being stranded in the cold weather for two hours, I spent it with some cool people, and ended up pulling in most of the albums I had been searching for. Throughout the week I plan on giving some more thoughts on RSD, the good, the bad and the ugly.

2011 Grammys Recap

Should I be embarrassed to say I was excited for this years Grammys? Last years Grammy’s ceremony was mildly entertaining, which is to say, by award show standards, it falls somewhere in-between great and incredible. This year, there were definitely some things to be excited for - Muse, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry (*drooling*) and the Arcade Fire would all be performing, and the award for best album actually contained an album that I believed was truly the album of the year, the Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Lets be honest though, what are the odds of a legitimately phenomenal album beating out the likes of Eminem, Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum? So, on with the recap.

Last years recap started off with the good, and then got into the bad, and I’m going to stick with the tried-and-true formula. After a three hour tribute to Aretha Franklin, Train won an award for best Pop performance by a duo or group and gave an awesome speech, thanking Justin Bieber for "not being a duo or a group" and even giving Howard Stern a shout-out. Before, and apparently until her performance, Lady Gaga was carried in a giant egg, or as Chris Harrison of the Bachelore/tte made extremely clear - a womb. Her outlandish theatrics are starting to straddle the line of clever and annoying, but if you’re going to look like a fool, you may as well go the extra mile and encase yourself in an egg. Her performance of "Born This Way" was entertaining, and dare I say, socially empowering. Muse’s performance of "Uprising" was strong as expected, and keeping with the theme of the song, featured violent protesters destroying the stage - I’m currently on the fence of whether that was corny or cool, so I’ll give Muse the benefit of the doubt. After their performance, Muse pulled in the award for best rock album. Then came a performance featuring Bruno Mars, B.o.B. and Janelle Monae, the latter of the three I had never heard of, but was pleasantly surprised by the performance of her song "Cold War." Apparently she’s signed to Puff Daddy’s, err I mean Sean Puffy Combs’, err I mean P. Diddy’s, err I mean Diddy’s label. Eventually, Bob Dylan, Mumford and Son and the Avett Brothers performed together. The latter two would perform one of their originals and then all came together to perform "Maggie’s Farm" with the legendary Dylan, whose voice was drowned out by the music, and sadly, that’s not such a bad thing, he’s showing his age.

The main reason for watching the show was to see the Arcade Fire, so the Grammys successfully sucked me in to watching all two and a half hours of the ceremony by leaving the Arcade Fire for the very end. They would perform a great rendition of "Month of May" with pulsating strobe lights and Matt Hoffman pedaling around on his bicycle with a camera attached to his helmet - yeah, the bicycles were definitely out of place. The bands soulful and energetic performance more than made up for that random BMX expo which seemed to be a case of, "Hey guys look, Matt Hoffman is here. Matt, did you bring your bike? Oh you did, well all these other performers have all these bells and whistles on stage, and all we have are strobe lights. Are you interested in riding your bike around while we perform?" To close down the show, the coveted award of album of the year was delivered. Before the award was handed out, I could have told you who wasn’t winning, and that would be the outlier, the Arcade Fire. Then in a stunning twist of events - stunning for all the wrong reasons - the Arcade Fire took home the award. It was a touching moment to see the band legitimately shocked and honored. For their speech, Win Butler walked up to the microphone and thanked a few people and then said, "We’re going to play another song... Because we like music" and then performed "Ready to Start", the smiles on their faces were infectious

Now for the bad, and judging by the length of the previous paragraphs, you can safely assume that the good outweighed the bad - shockingly. The twenty minute Aretha Franklin tribute featuring the now infamous traitor to American patriotism, Christina Aguilera, and some random other divas was so incredibly drawn out and boring that I’m sure viewership was cut in half by the fifteen minute mark. Smack in the middle of the show was Justin Bieber’s performance with Usher and Jaden Smith – yes, the Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith. Will Smith is treating his kids like an investment; they’re working their asses off. Is their some kind of child labor law that Smith could be imprisoned for? The intro to their performance over-viewed Usher’s discovery of the Bieb’s, and thank God that was cleared up, because I don’t know if I would have understood the complexity of the performance if it wasn’t... It was a fine display of ninja’s jumping around on stage and lip-synching. Katy Perry’s performance was actually pretty awesome, she was propped up in the air on a swing and had an enormous cloth attached to the back of her dress which doubled as a screen for projections of her wedding videos. So why would this performance be in the bad category? Well simply because I’m a shallow guy who wanted to see more skin... I’m shameless. Moving on, how can the overall album of the year not win album of the year in its own genre? The Arcade Fire lost to The Black Keys for alternative album of the year. This isn’t so bad considering The Black Keys’ Brothers was an outstanding album, so at least both bands took home some hardware, but there is some very flawed logic to these awards. Lastly, the Grammys did a fine job of killing the moment by plugging in all their advertisements in a moment of haste during the celebratory Arcade Fire performance. You got to please the sponsors!

All in all, I was very happy with this years Grammys. The performances were entertaining, and the most important award went to the most deserving band.

The White Stripes Split

So as you may or may not know, The White Stripes have officially broken up. I’m pretty confident in saying this is the most devastating music related news I’ve ever heard (keep in mind I’m 24.) Figuring out how to put The Stripes’ impact on me into words is quite difficult, because Jack White is such an enormous force in music that if we were to diagram the musical landscape of rock in terms of the solar system, Jack White would be the sun. He’s constantly lending his talents to different acts and music related entities, but as a devout member of the church of Jack White, I know it all comes back to The White Stripes.

I love everything that Jack touches, whether it be The Racounteurs, The Dead Weather, everything he is doing to revive vinyl and even his assistance on Electric Six’s “Fire in the Disco” to name a few. But what I am always patiently waiting for, is his returns to The White Stripes; it just feels like home and gives Jack the freedom to fully explore his creativity without any other members holding him back. I don’t want to diminish Meg’s role in The White Stripes, because she is certainly a key contributor to their success, but in terms of songwriting and creativity, Jack White is the man.

For me, The White Stripes were a glimmer of hope in my view of modern music. By the time The White Stripes were becoming household names with their innovative video for “Fell in Love With a Girl” I had essentially given up all hope on modern music. By that time I had made classic rock my exclusive source for music, and being so young at the time, I had a lot of catching up to do. There was certainly no time for any of this modern nonsense. However, all the hoopla surrounding The Stripes made me take notice. I listened to a copy of White Blood Cells and was impressed. I then went out and purchased Elephant and became even more enamored with the talent this duo possessed. With each release they showed growth and innovation, while never straying too far form their blues/garage rock roots. During their run they reignited my interest in modern rock, and that cannot go understated.

The White Stripes will always hold a special place in my music collection. They never disappointed with each release - always pushing the boundaries of music and creativity - and they reinvigorated modern rock. In what seemed like an impossible task a decade ago, over the past few years David Gilmour has been de-throned as my favorite musician, that spot now goes to Jack White, and while I deeply appreciate everything Jack does, The White Stripes will always be his defining achievement.

Top 15 Albums of 2010

15. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
Grinderman 2 is an adventure into mayhem. It's reckless in oh, so many ways. Grinderman 2 is at its best when it's at its most uncontrollable. Cave seemingly spews whatever drops into his sick mind and as a result, we're all left to debate its merits.

14. Weezer - Hurley
Message to all you so-called hardcore Weezer fans: Stop waiting for Weezer to record the next Pinkerton or Blue. It’s not going to happen. Once fans move past their obnoxious critiquing of Weezer for never matching their previous successes, the sooner we can get to appreciating what Weezer has left in the tank. No, Hurley is not as good as Blue, Pinkerton, Maladroit or Green, but it’s a fine album none-the-less.

13. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
The combination of pop aficionado James Mercer (The Shins) and studio master Danger Mouse is nothing short of a match made in heaven. Broken Bells’ debut has the fingerprints of Mercer and Danger all over these recordings. The songs on this album at their very core carry Mercer’s pop sensibilities, but Danger Mouse doctors them up with detailed and intricate atmospheric landscapes adding to the aura.

12. Peter Case - Wig!
Kind of like the Deftones, Peter Case encountered his own set of personal tragedy. In 2009, Case underwent heart surgery. Following the surgery, Case would go on to write Wig! a dirty blues album that features an authentic tenacity.

11. Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos - Buzzard
Buzzard received little to no critical acclaim, and little to no attention from the masses. I suppose the latter is to be expected, but the former is somewhat of a mystery to me. Buzzard is a superb album from top to bottom. Electric guitars take hold while Richard Edward’s lyrics are completely unpredictable and imaginative in a way that seems to mirror a blunt teen. Between the great musical back-drops and the reckless lyrics, Buzzard may be Margot’s best effort to date.

10. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
What amazes me about Wolf Parade’s Expo 86 is the energy it exudes. Spencer Krug’s raving vocals jump around in an anarchic manner while the keyboards, drums and guitars sound meticulously crafted. It’s finely layered post-punk machine that never stops running.

9. Fitz & the Tantrums - Pickin’ Up the Pieces
Revivalism is a relative term. There are revivalists like Wolfmother who draw heavy inspiration from Classic Rock and sprinkle in their own modern twists. Then there are revivalists like Fitz & the Tantrums who make it sound like the past 40 years didn’t exist. Fitz & and the Tantrums are authentic Motown, and while listening to Pickin’ Up the Pieces, you’ll never forget it.

8. The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards
Alison Mosshart - that’s pretty much all I have to say, but who am I to keep it brief. In the words of former Mets coach Jerry Manuel, her vocals are “absolutely filthy.” She was on fire for The Dead Weather’s debut, but on Sea of Cowards, she is blazing. There is a tenacity in her vocals that almost make you forget this is another Jack White side project. This is blues at its raunchiest.

7. Fen - Trails Out of Gloom
Fen is an alternative/heavy metal band that often veers into progressive rock territories likening them to the sounds of Porcupine Tree and Opeth. Unlike countless other bands in the same genre, Fen manages to always stay centered, never losing themselves to moments of self-indulgence or falling victim to being overly obscure.

6. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Bruce Springsteen, move on over. This quartet hailing from the great state of New Jersey has been taking notes and has taken Bruce’s signature heartland rock and added a dab of punk to the equation. The Springsteen influences are overt, but The Gaslight Anthem don’t seem to have any intentions of hiding the fact. The bands punk tendencies are light at best, but American Slang shows that the bands strongest suit may be heartland rock. Hopefully this is a sign of their future direction.

5. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
It’s funny how tragedy can turn in to something wonderful. In 2008 Deftones bassist Chi Cheng was involved in a catastrophic auto incident that forced the band to bring in a replacement. Prior to the accident the band recorded a new album, but would later scrap it entirely due to their bassists mental state. With a new bassist in hand, the band recorded a brand new album. The result of the journey was Diamond Eyes. A heavy and emotionally fueled roller coaster which has a powerful sense of optimism behind the violent riffs.

4. MGMT - Congratulations
MGMT prematurely apologized to fans for the sound of Congratulations. Why you may ask? I suppose because it wasn’t as commercially viable as their debut album, Oracular Spectacular. Instead, Congratulations sounds like a modern day Pet Sounds, and while it may not be as revolutionary, it’s definitely as good.

3. Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow
Coheed has struggled to find a true identity since their inception. On Year of the Black Rainbow, they hone in on one sound and deliver in ways they have never done before. It’s a dark, cerebral, sludgy masterpiece that abolishes all those hints of emo that were holding them back.

2. The Black Keys - Brothers
The songwriting of The Black Keys is truly phenomenal, and Brothers is the epitome of that. Brothers is a bit more mellow than their previous albums, but it’s also their strongest. The melodies from the first track to the last are unbelievable and bleeding through every second is an uncanny amount of blues drenched soul.

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
I had freakishly high expectations for this album, and the scary thing is, not only did they meet those expectations, they surpassed them. I envision The Suburbs as being an album I will cite in twenty years and say, “Now that is a band who hit full stride.” Every time I listen to it I feel like I’m listening to something special.


If you're interested in checking out lists from some great bloggers, below is a list of other sites who also took part in counting down the greatest albums of the year.

All Metal Resource — http://allmetalresource.com/

Bring Back Glam — http://bringbackglam.squarespace.com/

Hair Metal Mansion — http://hairbangersradio.ning.com/

Hard Rock Hideout — http://hardrockhideout.com/

Heavy Metal Time Machine — http://metalmark.blogspot.com/

Metal Excess — http://metalexcess.com/

Metal Odyssey — http://metalodyssey.wordpress.com/

The Ripple Effect — http://www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/

Hard Rock Nights — http://hardrocknights.wordpress.com/

Layla’s Classic Rock — http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/

The Metal Minute — http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/

Heavy Metal Addiction - http://heavymetaladdiction.com

Today is a Day You Will Definitely Forget

So today is a day Apple claimed “You’ll never forget.” Running through my head are endless possibilities - maybe aliens will descend to earth, maybe we’ll find the cure for cancer, or maybe Howard Stern will finally sign a new contract. Nope, none of those. Instead, we get The Beatles catalog on iTunes... A day we’ll never forget! Maybe this would have been groundbreaking news back when iTunes and iPods were in their infant stages, but at this point in time, anyone who wants The Beatles collection digitally, has The Beatles collection digitally. As far as I can tell, there haven’t been any restrictions from buying The Beatles music practically anywhere else. I can’t wait to tell my children ten years from now about the monumental day The Beatles went to iTunes. Along with that gripping tale, I could tell them about the time “Like a G6" by the Far East Movement Featuring Cataracs & Dev dropped to the number two spot on the Billboard charts - the nation was in mourning.