Vinyl Record Architect

A Sad Day in London

Vinyl Record Architect — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:25:00 GMT

I came across this moving account about the closing of two, side by side London record shops.

http://recordmecca.blogspot.com/2009/09/sad-day-for-record-collectors.html

Moral of the story: support your local record store. Thank God, I have one of the best -- Jerry's -- just down the street from my house.

Give your money to stores like Jerry's rather than Amazon.

Reading Patti Smith's Just Kids

Vinyl Record Architect — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:40:00 GMT

My photographer friend, Stan, a New York based photographer who I have known since I was about 16, recently told me that he showed Robert Mapplethorpe how to use his Hasselblad. Its a great story, one of those classic New York brushes with fame/six degrees of separation stories. It intersects with my reading of Patti Smith's wonderful new memoir of her time with Mapplethorpe, Just Kids.

We were having dinner with Stan, talking about books and Petra mentioned that she was reading Patti Smith's new book, which I have since started as well. That was when Stan told us of his encounter with Mapplethorpe. In about 1972, when Stan was living in a loft at 24 Bond Street, Mapplethorpe was his upstairs neighbor. He would see him, in passing, quite often. This was before - but not by much - Mapplethorpe became a household name in the world of photography. One day, as Stan's story goes, Mapplethorpe came downstairs and, knowing that Stan was a photographer, knocked on Stan's door and asked him to show him how to use his camera. The rest, as they say is history.

"(Mapplethorpe's) Hassleblad was a medium format camera fitted with a Polaroid back," Smith writes in Just Kids. "Its complexity required the use of a light meter, and the interchangeable lens gave Robert a greater depth of field. It allowed him more choices and flexibility, more control over his use of light. Robert had defined his visual vocabulary. The new camera taught him nothing, just allowed him to get exactly what he was looking for."

I can't remember exactly when I bought Patti Smith's 1975 debut album, Horses, or exactly why, but mapplethorpe's cover image - taken with this camera - surely helped to sell it. Maybe it was John Rockwell's rave Rolling Stone review in February, 1976. Maybe it was in the Village Voice. Maybe a friend told me about it. I can't remember. But what I do know is that by the early '76, it was on heavy rotation on my stereo. I had never seen or heard anything like it and I loved it.

First there is the album cover, which is like no other, the archetypal, androgenous image of Patti Smith as shot by Robert Mapplethorpe.

"There was never any question, "Smith writes in Just Kids, "that Robert would take the portrait for the cover of Horses, my aural sword sheathed with Robert's image. I had no sense of how it would look, just that it would be true. The only thing I promised Robert was that I would wear a clean shirt with no stains on it....I went to the Salvation Army on the Bowery and bought a stack of white shirts. Some were too big for me, but the one I really liked was neatly pressed with a monogram below the breast pocket. It reminded me of a Brassai shot of Jean Genet wearing a white monogrammed shirt with rolled up sleeves."

The music inside is even more sensational, still one of my favorite records, essential on vinyl with every trace of its replaying audible in the pops and scratches of my vintage copy. Somehow, for me, those traces of my reckless overplaying add to my listening experience today. The songs are vivid and raw and poetic and mysterious and the recording of the songs lets Patti's vocals and Lenny Kasye's lead guitar take center stage. No frills.

Legendary critic Lester Bangs wrote a memorable review of the album, which included these lines:

"Horses was one of the greatest records I've ever heard. Like all true art, it drew you into recognizable situations and illuminated, poetically heightened them ...rather than just preaching at you and ranting that its creator was an Artist...Horses changed my life, but I've recognized that there was something almost supernatural about the powers it tapped, that no artist or audience can expect that kind of baptism in the firmamental flames every time."

Just Kids is a snapshot of the period leading up to this epic recording. It describes New York's art world, Warhol's Factory, and life at the Chelsea Hotel in words that somehow describe Smith and Mapplethorpe's struggles and ambitions - and magic.

They Had Dylan Covered: Jake and the Family Jewels

Vinyl Record Architect — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:42:00 GMT

When I come across this record album in the used vinyl rack at a favorite NYC record store, it reminds me of the first time I saw Jake and the Family Jewels perform. It was Toad's Place in New Haven, 1978 or 1979. This is the sign my classmate Charlie Hunter made for their dressing room. Charlie had a way with lettering and made all the painted window posters for Toads from about 1977-1981. Sometimes, I would go with him to see a show or he would tell me to see a certain band that - despite or maybe because of reading Rolling Stone religiously in those days - I had never heard of and would have missed. I saw Elliott Murphy this way, Root Boy Slim, NRBQ, and many others. Charlie also made beautiful illustrations for the magazine I edited back then.

There were two albums, I think, and that was it. I don't know why, but Jake receded into the background of my brain for many years only to be pushed to the forefront by a chance encounter in a record bin.

My wife - everybody - teases me about these musical adventures.

Walking west on Fourth street, I pass the hi-fi store, In Living Stereo - www.inlivingstereo.com - that my friend Stan has recommended to me a few times. I turn back and think of the question I have about the anti-skate mechanism on my Rega turntable. I see a Rega in the window and walk in. Maybe someone will be able to answer my question. There are two guys talking in the front room. I ask one of them if he can help me and within half an hour the three of us are sitting in the back room sharing stories and listening to records. Steve Cohen, one of the resident experts at In Living Stereo, puts Spirit's 'Clear' album on and we talk about one of my favorite underrated bands. Then, I pull out my just purchased 1970 'Jake and the Family Jewels' release, which I have NEVER heard, and ask Steve if he would mind playing it for me. It is a revelation. The disk is phenomenal, better than I would have expected, reminding me a little bit of Dan Hicks, or The Insect Trust, or Quicksilver...but really they don't sound like any of these bands. Steve studies the album cover and exclaims, "He's playing a Les Paul Junior with P90 pickups..."

Mostly originals, the disk includes covers of Jimmy Driftwood's 'Tennessee Stud' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Driftwood) and Dylan's 'Open the Door, Homer,' from Dylan and the Band's 1967 unreleased Basement Tapes...Jake's version comes out fully five years before Dylan decides to release it on Columbia's 'The Basement Tapes' album, although bootlegs started circulating almost immediately. For a list of all the Basement Tapes songs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Basement_Tapes_songs. The Columbia release is not complete. Maybe someday Bob and his Band-mates will release everything....

It turns out that Jake's choice of Dylan covers was a popular one. According to 'The Dylan Covers Database,' there are at least 24 cover versions of this song that have been released, including versions by Fairport Convention and Robyn Hitchcock. And in 1970, Jake's cover version wasn't even the first, having been scooped by John Walker, The Floor, Jack Downing and the Other Side, and several others.

But, really, you only need two: Bob's and Jake's.

http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/dylancov/main&db=main&TrackCode==homer

Wolfman Jack's Forty Five 45's (and the Covers that Followed)

Vinyl Record Architect — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:46:00 GMT

I recently came across this obscure collection put together in 1977 by legendary DJ Wolfman Jack. I discovered the Wolfman like many others when George Lucas' American Graffiti featured him. Do you have the American Graffiti soundtrack? Wolfman Jack's patter is all over the tracks! He had a distinctive gravelly voice and a great ear for music.

The three album set I found is jam packed with original hit songs, many later covered to become hits for other artists. Some of my favorite pre-covers on this record include:

Betty Everett's You're No Good, which was later famously covered by Linda Rondstadt on her best-selling album 'Heart Like a Wheel;'

The Leaves' Hey Joe, which Jimi Hendrix made famous;

Lieber and Stoller's Kansas City, which was a massive hit in 1959 for Wilbur Harrison and which appears on The Beatles' 'Beatles For Sale' album of 1964;

Bob Dylan's It Ain't Me, Babe, here covered by The Turtles who had a big hit with it; and

Endless Sleep by Jody Reynolds (who?) who sold a million copies with his recording of it in 1958 and which was later covered by more than 65 artists including Hank Williams Jr. and Billy Idol.

Yes, Billy Idol.

Do you love vinyl, too?

Vinyl Record Architect — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:00:01 GMT

I am always interested in hearing about why people love vinyl. Probably because it helps me to better understand why I do. So, I was delighted to come across a great essay on the top 'eleven' reasons why - nod to 'Spinal Tap' - thanks to Rob Paterson, a new reader to this blog. Here is the list in reverse order:

    11. They Are Just Plain Cool
    10. The Concept Album
    9. The Machinery
    8. The Memories
    7. They Make You Slow Down
    6. Fewer Anti-Piracy Restrictions
    5. More Music For Less Dough
    4. You Can Raid Your Parents' Collection
    3. Better Sound
    2. They Are Fun To Browse Through

And the Number 1 reason why Rob Paterson loves vinyl is:

    1. They Are Fun To Look At!

For Rob's complete essay, check out HIS great blog:  http://robpaterson.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/the-top-eleven-reasons-why-i-love-vinyl/

Phish Covers 'Ride Captain Ride'

Vinyl Record Architect — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:39:00 GMT

When is a one hit wonder just a very good blues band that happened to have one hit?

One hit wonders tend to have bad reputations. The rap on one hit wonders is usually that they were BAD bands that made one annoyingly catchy pop hit that sold a gazillion copies. Never had another hit, so couldn't have been any good. Or so the theory goes.

Who are your favorite one hit wonders, anyway? Guilty pleasures....

Flicking through my albums this evening, listening to music while catching up on work, and I come across an album that I have no recollection of ever buying! It is Blues Image's 'Open' and it is GREAT. After side one introduces me to a series of great Latin tinged blues rock tracks, I flip the disk, cue up side two, and there it is: Ride Captain Ride.

Ride Captain Ride is one of those songs that shows up on almost every single compilation of late 1960s rock. Just turn on the TV after 11 pm and if you wait long enough, you'll hear it. It was a HUGE hit in 1969 and on these compilations has an infectious and somewhat cheap kind of quality. When you hear it late at night and in this corny context the song seems to oversimplify and slickly package alot of psychedelic effects for a pop audience.

But that is late at night in the corny context of one of these compilations.

As the first cut on the second side of 'Open,' after a full side of really great blues rock, Ride Captain Ride sounds somewhat more convincing. And the rest of the record is good... Very listenable and enjoyable, played by a number of veteran rockers who played with Steppenwolf, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and many others.

The cover, as you can see above, is terrible. How much did the perceived integrity of a band have to do with the album art. In the age of MP3s and ITunes, does this issue go away? When this record came out, the 'image' of Blues Image was based in part on the cheesy drawing on the cover. Compare to Blues Magoos, Blues Project, and any number of other contemporaneous bands....

But, definitely check out this record some time....if you ever come across it, give it a chance.

It figures prominently in a couple of movies, including 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.' Well, there it is the butt of a joke.

But perhaps most interestingly, it has been covered by the jam band, Phish. If anyone can tell me how this came about, that would be great. In the meantime, here is a six minute YouTube clip of them jamming to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxcSVXFvZkY

Bryan, check out Trey's guitar sweet little guitar solo mid way through the performance....

Music Can Change the World

Vinyl Record Architect — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:03:00 GMT

Another snowy day. Kids home, working on colonial projects and civil rights reports. And coincidentally, in the New York Times a story about the White House concert celebrating the music of the civil rights movement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/arts/music/10concert.html?hpw

Imagine if music could help to end the wars we fight, help to rally folks to become more environmentally sensitive in their daily lives, even, as Bob Dylan sang at the White House, help to hold our leadrers more responsible for their public trust.

Well, it can.

Now, musicmakers, get busy.

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow: Songs with 'Snow' in the Title

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:27:00 GMT

...and speaking of snow, we have had more than our share here in Pittsburgh. The fourth biggest snow fall in the city's history has left a beautiful, two-foot thick blanket of powdery snow.

So, I have begun to think of songs with 'snow' in the title. One site, http://www.fiql.com/playlists/songs_with_snow_in_their_title1/, has a pretty good list.

I can add Frank Zappa's "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow." http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=3480589&song=Don't+Eat+The+Yellow+Snow The song was the first Zappa song to hit the Billboard charts at #86. It was the opening track on his most commercially successful album, 1974's Apostrophe, which reached #10 on the album chart and became a gold record in 1976.

Apart from Bill Murray's Nick Winter character singing Gilda Ratner's cast "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" on Saturday Night Live, I don't know of any recorded cover versions.

I did come across a great recipe for yellow snow cupcakes!

http://aliciapolicia.blogspot.com/2009/02/dont-eat-yellow-snow.html

Because in a few days, the beautiful white snow here will be yellow, too.

Bumps, Skips, Records and Cars

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:20:00 GMT

My friend Stan is visiting from New York City this weekend. We are snowed in here in Pittsburgh - more than 24 inches fell overnight. Beautiful. But one of the fringe benefits of a big snow storm is that, after shoveling, and hiking, you sit around the living room, drinking coffee and tea, and talking!

So, naturally conversation bounces around and includes vinyl records and this blog. I read Stan the latest entry on car stereos record players and he says, I think there was a car that had a vertical slot for records, but I'm not sure when or which car.

Is Stan dreaming or was there a car that had a slot for records?

I think I found it: it was a Phllips.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4kleuren/104338856/

Here is a link to a piece on the Chrysler's 1960 RCA 'upside down' car record player, too.

http://www.uaw-chrysler.com/images/news/phono.htm

None of the them seem to have to have woked to well...something about bumps and skipping!

Highway Hi-Fi Phonograph

Vinyl Record Architect — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:50:00 GMT

My friend Jim has satelite radio and I am seriously considering putting it in my car, too. There is so little good programming to listen to on the terrestrial radio in my area, and the music shows I listened to on satelite as we drove to our daughters' soccer game a few weeks ago had real host/djs that told real stories and played real music, good music, real music. I was impressed.

But then I thought about my vinyl record obsession and felt like a traitor. I listen to CDs and my IPod in my car already, but no records.

Of course.

But when I mentioned this to another friend, he said, "Well you know....there were cars that had turntables in them, back in the old days."

There were? There were!

Growing up, we didn't have a car. My parents didn't drive - they were true New Yorkers. I didn't learn to drive until a few years ago myself!

So, I didn't know that cars used to have turntables in them! Well, not many did, apparently.

Columbia put record players in some Chryslers in 1956.

Apparently they didn't work too well...something about bumps.

'Crave' - the gadget blog on CNET - had a good piece on Chrysler's semi-exclusive in car turntable - see photo above.
And why do you think Motorola is called Motorola? Their first product was....(drumroll, please) ....an car stereo with a turntable!

Hence the name: Motor + Victrola = Motorola.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9687999-1.html

Simon Cowell 'hurts' for Haiti

Vinyl Record Architect — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:33:00 GMT

Why does everything that Simon Cowell does elicit such ire?

Why does REM look so serious?

Simon has enlisted Susan Boyle and friends to record a cover of REM's 'Everybody Hurts' with the proceeds going to Haitian relief efforts. Folks are in a tizzy over his choice of song to benefit the people of Haiti. They say that it is about teenage suicide, not tragedies like this, and so is not approriate.

What song is?

Does it really matter?

Isn't the song just a fundraising vehicle? 'Everybody Hurts' is well-known and popular and will be successful as a focal point of fundraising because of its univeral recognition.

Isn't that the point?

Do you know what is on David Bowie's IPod?

Vinyl Record Architect — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:37:00 GMT

Take a look at yesterday's Guardian and check out what David Bowie says he is listening to. I guess we have to believe him!

It's Bowie!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jan/24/david-bowie-on-his-ipod

David Byrne Urban Designer

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:53:00 GMT

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/01/david-byrne-to-speak-on-congress-for-new-urbanism.html

I am always interested to discover places in the world where music and architecture converge. At the Congress for New Urbanism, legendary musician David Byrne will be speaking about his 'bycycle diaries' and living in cities. He always wrote great songs about cities and buildings, so why not? In fact, why has it taken this long for this to happen?

David should know that the Congress for New Urbanism is a somewhat reactionary urban design organization that promotes a nostalgic version of cities that developers seem to like because it densifies suburbia - better, more urban living AND more profit. I get the density concept - but why not put your efforts into existing ciies and not minor improvements to sprawl? Or am I missing something? I don't think so.

David, watch out!

So, I am excited to learn that ex-Talking Head David Byrne will be talking to this group about riding bikes in cities and other things he likes about cities. Might be worth checking out!

Bob Boilen is NPR's John Peel

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:21:00 GMT

NPR (National Public Radio) (www.npr.org) is part of most mornings in our household. Driving to work and Saturday mornings, its one of our sources of news and entertainment. We are somewhat of an NPR family, I guess you could say. And the music segments, whether they come through Fresh Air (www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13) or All Things Considered (www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=2) are some of our favorites.

Where else would we hear about Geoff Muldaur and his latest project, The Texas Sheiks? (www.geoffmuldaur.com).

So, I was happy to discover this in-depth interview with All SONGS Considered Host, Bob Boilen, at Paste.com: Enjoy.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/11/industry-chat-bob-boilen-of-npr-music.html

Norah Jones, Meet Laura Nyro. Hello, Norah Nyro!

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:48:00 GMT

I have listened to Laura Nyro's 'Gonna Take A Miracle' for years and years. I can't remember when or where I got it - or even why - but I have long enjoyed its strange, soulful sound, Nyro's soaring lead vocals on top of Labelle's textured backing, her unusual, brassy arrangements of classic R 'n' B. It's not exactly an easy record to listen to, demanding in the way most of my favorite albums are. Not a record to put on in the background while you talk with friends or read by the fire. Not a record many of my friends - or even my wife - really enjoys listening to with me. But one full of life and originality for me at least to this day. As Barney Hoskyns wrote, "Laura is one of those artists who takes you over - one of the greatest poets pop has produced." Laura Nyro's songs are undeniable, her voice, an acquired taste reviled by some and revered by others like singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones who has admired it as 'pure emotion.'

Last year, after years and years of listening to 'Gonna Take A Miracle,' I picked up my second Nyro album, a beautiful vintage vinyl copy of 'Eli and the 13th Confession,' one of the albums in Laura Nyro's classic trilogy that also includes 'New York Tendaberry' and 'Christmas and the Beads of Sweat.' In these groundbreaking, prescient albums of the late 60s and early 70s, Nyro charts a new course for female, singer songwriters, out of step with its time, ahead of her time. True innovators are often misunderstood until the world catches up with them. Laura Nyro never quite got to enjoy the world's recognition of her genius and she died too young to witness her musical offspring. As Nyro fan Rickie Lee Jones has observed, "Too bad everyone waits until people are dead. She could have used that glory."

Nyro rose to top of (my) mind recently when I read Barney Hoskyn's appreciative profile in the January issue of UNCUT magazine. In his concise, but well crafted prose, Hoskyns outlines her rise and fall. A gifted and prolific songwriter, Laura Nyro wrote such timeless songs as 'Wedding Bell Blues,' 'Stoney End,' ' Eli's Coming,' and 'And When I Die,' among others. She recorded with Columbia a series of well-done to over-produced albums of songs that bridged the Brill Building song craft of Ellie Greenwich and Carole King and the 1970s Singer Songwriters.

However, Nyro's career was to be studded with ups and downs. On the strength of her first album and a powerful collection of songs, an inexperienced Nyro was invited to play Monterey Pop in 1967. In contrast to the raw emotion of fellow Monterey Pop artists like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, just emerging, Nyro seemed out of step, too East Coast slick, too produced, too traditional. Her poetry, her charm, her sincerity, all was lost on Monterey's stoned-out audience and they booed her off stage.

This disaster, for which she was miscast, would dog her for the rest of her too short life.

It was the first big gig of her career, and not the right one. Not only wasn't she ready for the 'big' stage so soon, it was the wrong stage to boot. Monterey Pop did not want what Hoskyns describes as a 'glorious hyper-pop hodge-podge of Broadway theatricality, holy rollong gospel, and streetcorner soul.'

But you may, now.

Over the years, Nyro's influence has been great. Her intuitive mix of genres anticipates many popular contemporary artists who freely borrow from many influences and mix and a match to create a heterogenous sound. No Norah Jones without Laura Nyro.

I like Norah Jones and I like Laura Nyro.

Golden Earring is Heavy

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:20:00 GMT

For most American music fans, Golden Earring is one perfect song, 'Radar Love.' If it comes on late night radio while you are driving it is the perfect driving song.

But, to most of us, then, Golden Earring is basically a one-hit wonder, known for one amazing song that in its relentless rhythmic drone is also practically a novelty song.

But they are so much more.

In Holland, they are prodigious hitmakers, charted hits numbering more than 40. Their albums are staples of Dutch record collections, easy to find and still very listenable.

I recently came across a clean copy of their 1972 'Together' album in Amsterdam's 'Second Life Music.' The cover looks like an invitation to hang out, the plants, candles, and hair testimony to the laid back 70s hippie rock 'n' roll lifestyle. The music is great, heavy and tuneful.

So much than just a single great song.

'Professor' Leo Blokhuis and Top 2000

Vinyl Record Architect — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:05:00 GMT

This is Leo Blokhuis (above). More on Leo in a moment.

First: Hello again.

I had a dream last night and it was about this blog.

You see its been a long time - 32 days to be exact - since I wrote a new entry and my conscience must have been getting the better of me.

In the dream, I wrote this amazing entry about some record I discovered which reminded me about some other record that I had discovered when I was a teenager and well it was a dream so it all didn't make any sense but it made perfect sense - in the dream at least. I knew it made sense until I woke up and then I could not remember a thing.

So, there you are.

I was traveling over the holiday, reading a lot of music magazines in airplanes and celebrating New Years in The Netherlands.

Every year, for the past ten, Holland's Radio 2 has polled its listeners to produce a Top 2000 of all time. (http://top2009.radio2.nl/) It is an interesting list; since it is so long it has many predictable results but also alot of songs you haven't heard for awhile as well. Or never heard - its Dutch!

Related to this, each night for about a week before New Years, TV host Matthijs van Nieuwkerk - charming and enthusiastic - and music expert Leo Blokhuis host a wonderful hourlong TV show called Top 2000 a Go Go. Filmed in a large cafe, with an audience of people sitting at tables drinking beer around the room, van Nieuwkerk and Blokhuis play selections form the Top 2000 list - in reverse order counting down to number 1 - interview unlikely guests, quiz even more unlikely guest, and play Leo's mini-music-documentaries. For me, they are the highlight of each show, fascinating and entertaining.

So, every night from December 26 through New Years Eve, I tuned in at 11pm to see what Leo had come up with. One night it was legendary but forgotten bass player Carol Kaye. Another night it was Lori Lieberman, composer of 'Killing Me Softly.' With my poor Dutch comprehension, I struggled to follow the proceedings, but got more than enough to want to tune in again next year. My native Dutch speaking wife bought two of Blokhuis' wonderful books - please translate thenm into English Leo - or let me try! (i'm serious, Leo....)

Leo's special fascination is covers (are covers?). He traced the Otis Redding's legendary performance of 'Try a Little Tenderness' back to a 1932 recording by England's Ray Noble!

Musically, the Top 2000 list uncovered some gems: Midnight Oil's 'Beds Are Burning'; Sniff 'n' the Tears' 'Drivers' Seat'; The Shoes, Klaus Voorman, Willy Deville, Spandau Ballet, Prince covering Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love.' The Buoy's 'Give Up Your Gun';
Golden Earring's 'Another 45 Miles'; Dr. Alban's 'It's My Life.'

For more on Blokhuis' books, check out 'Showcase': http://showcase.thebluebus.nl/soundtrack-of-my-life/october-2008/leo-blokhuis

Or go to www.leoblokhuis.nl

And say that paul Rosenblatt, your 'vinylrecordarchitect' sent you!

Vinyl Record Sales Up In 2009 (and My Stereo 'System' is Down).

Vinyl Record Architect — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:58:00 GMT

As many of us already sensed anecdotally, vinyl record sales are up - way - this year.
The NY Times recently featured an article about this trend.
Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/nyregion/07vinyl.html

Meanwhile, my new old stereo 'system' is driving me crazy at the moment. I am fighting with slipping belts, crummy wires, bad inputs, and porrly matched equipment. The arm on my turntable was 'upgraded' - several owners ago - but it makes it impossible to close the turntable cover when playing records...this kind of thing. At the moment, the 'system,' such as it is, is down and I am without analog music...CDs and Itunes. Aaargh!

So, I am in the early stages of figuring out what to do next. Playing and listening to music is like owning a house - always projects, maintenance and upgrades....

Seven Great Books on Rock (or What To Give a Rock Music Lover For Christmas)

Vinyl Record Architect — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:20:00 GMT

Eighteen days till Christmas - I don't know how many 'shopping' days, but with the Internet, does that mean anything anymore?
Hannukah is coming up, too - and you need lots of presents for Hannuakah - at least one for each day....

If you are looking for a gift or gifts for that special someone who is into rock music, why not a book? There are so many great ones - my rock music library is forever expanding - but here are a few favorites to get you started. My unbiased and I don't benefit from putting this together list. Five are proper books and two are books plus CDs, one with music and one with, well, decades of reading.....

1. Any Old Way You Choose It by Robert Christgau
First on my list is an essential collection of essays by the so-called dean of rock critics, Robert Christgau. The essays were written between 1967-1973 and absolutely capture the feeling of the time. I have seen this at half price books and online really, really cheap...snap it up.

2. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Maybe everyone hasn't read this yet, but anyway, alot of people have seen the film, but not read the book. And the book is THE best novel about music ever written. Name another one as good. Salman Rushdie's? No! Hornby is a great writer, so if you like this, you can try his other novels....

3. 1000 Songs To Change Your Life by Timeout
This is a great stockingstuffer, not really a book to read from cover to cover as much as it is a book to dip into with a friend and argue about! The British perspective makes some of the suggestions seem a bit odd to those of us here in the States, but makes it interesting, too....and alot of fun.

4. Love is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 by Alec Palao
Is this a great book of photos and essays with four phenomenal CDs attached? Or is it a phenomenal four CD set packaged ina great hardcover book of timeless photos and essays? No matter - it is fantastic. I have enjoyed hours and hours of listening and have not tired of looking at these pictures of the likes of Santana, Grace, the Dead and all the others...

5. Rock Albums of the 70s by Robert Christgau
Yes, two by Christgau. Until I read the new Robert Palmer collection of essays - which looks real good - I'll include two by Christgau. Why not? This is not really a reading book so much as it is a collection of his nutshell graded record reviews....I dip into this all the time too and so will you. If you are lucky enough to get it from your someone special - or from yourself!

6. Rolling Stone: Cover To Cover - The First 40 Years
Ok, its not really a book, per se, but you can read it, right? Forty years of EVERY PAGE OF THE ROLLING STONE on three CDs! Love it or not, for many years, it was the voice of a generation of music lovers. Yes, it became corporate and safe, but back in the day....and this includes every page, every ad, every letter to the editor....everything. And it is searchable, so you can put the disks on your computer and browse and read for almost ever.

7. Vinyl Junkies by Brett Milano
Every reader of this blog should read this collection of essays about some truly obsessed vinyl record collectors. I didn't want the book to end.

So, there you have it: seven really good suggestions of 'books' about rock music that you can give as gifts and make someone - anyone - really happy. Isn't that what its all about?

Palladia Is Great to Look At, Not So To Hear

Vinyl Record Architect — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:04:00 GMT

If you get HD TV, you might have come across this 'new' music network, Palladia. It is in fact a rebranded HD-MTV. I was channel surfing one night and caught some great footage of some crummy concert. Of course it seems to be programmed to appeal to a very broad audience, but by trying to appeal to so many, does it appeal to anyone?

Last night, I stayed up for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Barcelona. Not Palladia's fault, but Bruce sounded terrible! And his stage show was so corny - when did he become a vaudeville act? It made me wish old rockers would retire rather than keep on keeping on. Bob Dylan? I still haven't warmed to his new ravaged voice. Ok, I get it - he thinks he sounds like the old, weird folk and blues performers he loves, and maybe he does, but I'm not sure I like listening to him. Same for Bruce. Bruce can't hit the notes and when did rockers start having teleprompters on stage to help them with the words? With their OWN words, no less! Bruce has a way of seeming to close his eyes but he slyly raises one eyebrow to open his eyes a slit and scans his lyrics as he sings. His lyrics! He wrote the words - you'd think he could remember them.

Unless he is too old.

Maybe it would be better if old rockers would just fade away. Or find a way to perform that adjusts their performance to their changing, diminishing range and lack of memory. I know it sounds harsh...

Mick seems to be ok. Van Morrison, too.

As for the Palladia programming, Katy Perry was the best thing to watch last night. Not saying too much, I guess. She was alright, her unplugged cabaret style show better than her usual act, but her 'insights' into the songs? Puh-lease!

Here is an article on Palladia. Check it out and decide for yourself...

By Vlada Gelman

MTV Rebrands HD Music Channel as Palladia.

MTV Networks’ high-definition music channel MHD will change its name to Palladia effective Sept. 1.

“It’s a bigger, more distinct name for a channel that has grown in size as well as satisfaction among music HD fans,” said Tom Calderone, the executive VP/general manager of VH1 who oversees Palladia. “We’re also reinforcing that the channel is the home for an increasingly broad range of musical styles and artists in high-def performances that can’t be seen anywhere else. We believe these changes will help our distributor partners as they continue to sell HD and strive for the best content.”

Palladia will offer more exclusive programming as part of its evolution, kicking off with “Outdoor Music Week” the first week of September. The lineup of outdoor music concerts will feature Madonna, Usher, Dave Matthews Band, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who, Green Day, Genesis, Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse, Foo Fighters, Kanye West, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Sugarland, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dierks Bentley, Hank Williams Jr., Queen, Will Smith and the Rolling Stones.

Palladia also will host “Hip Hop Weekend” Oct. 4-5, “Classic Rock Movie Week” Nov. 10-16 and “Best of 2008 Week” Dec. 22-28.

The channel’s regular lineup will feature a different concert every Saturday at 9 p.m. and films from the channel’s collection of rock movies every Thursday at 9 p.m.