Vinyl Vednesday 6/22/2011

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. Anyway, as always, e-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: The Beatles’ Rubber Soul (1965) on black, RVIVR’s RVIVR LP (2010) on black with an inside-out Modest Mouse jacket, and Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” single (1981) on black.

Place of Purchase: Beatles ‘n’ Kim Wilde came from Siren Records in Doylestown. RVIVR was ordered via Interpunk.com.

Thoughts: I almost feel bad for the folks at Siren Records when I walk in, because thanks to the massive music shedding I’m doing for myPod, I almost always purchase stuff via trading instead of using actual, legal tender. On my most recent trip, I scored $130 in store credit. I put part of it towards The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, because why not? It’s one of my favorite Beatles albums. The melodies are huge, the band started reacting to Bob Dylan by going acoustic, and its got some of my favorite tunes, like “Girl,” “Michelle,” and “Norwegian Wood.” I made a slight tactical error in buying a U.S. printing, though. The Beatles’ records got chopped and screwed for a long time, and this version of Rubber Soul shuffles the track listing and cuts “Drive My Car!” Blasphemy! It’s still a great record, though, and this version was much cheaper than the sealed mono British pressing Siren had listed for $300. I’m not ready for that sort of commitment.

After Shorebirds imploded, I was a little slow getting into the next round of post-Latterman bands like Iron Chic and RVIVR. I just... didn't want to get hurt again. Also, I was lazy and there was a lot of good music coming out in the heady days of the year 2010. After it showed up on a bevy of year-end lists, though, I decided to dive back into the punk rock band dating pool. RVIVR is noticeably slower compared to Shorebirds or Latterman, but the band basically traded speed for melody, and I can live with that. I dig the male/female vocal interplay, especially on “Real Mean.” That tune’s also got a mean guitar lead. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's OK to love again. I never got to see Latterman or Shorebirds live; I need to turn that around with RVIVR (or Iron Chic).

Two-thirds of the pop singles released in the ’80s were absolute shit. The other one-third was amazing. My fiancée mocks me on occasion for picking up ’80s singles, but I really, really like Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America.” It’s a catchy new wave ditty beloved by everyone who ever existed in this universe. The Bouncing Souls covered it!

As for the B-side, “You’ll Never Be So Wrong,” it’s OK I guess. I don’t remember how it goes.

Vinyl Vednesday 5/18/2011

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick measuring contest, but it usually turns out that way. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Marvin Gaye’s Anthology (1974) on black, The Promise Ring’s Boys + Girls seven-inch (1998) on black, and the We Do What We Want zine/seven-inch comp (2008) on black.

Place of Purchase: Marvin Gaye came from Repo Records in Philadelphia. Promise Ring was an eBay find. The Olympia punk comp was purchased directly from Matt Canino (RVIVR/ex-Latterman/ex-Shorebirds) via mail.

Thoughts: Marvin Gaye has been on my radar for a long time, but his massive discography always seemed a little daunting. I knew I wanted to start with either What’s Going On or Let’s Get It On, but the guy released so much music that I didn’t know where to go beyond the obvious masterpieces. I was crate-digging in Repo one day when I spotted Anthology, a triple LP greatest hits package from Motown that covers Gaye’s run from 1961-1974. It’s still missing some of Gaye’s later hits like “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing,” but based on Motown’s excellent similarly themed triple LP for Stevie Wonder’s early work, Looking Back, I knew the set would be the best entryway. Gaye’s list of styles and contributors is stunning; this triple LP showcases one gorgeous R&B classic after another, and I look forward to further exploring Gaye’s canon. However, that inspiration quote from O.J. Simpson in the liner notes is a little awkward.

The Promise Ring’s Boys + Girls is significantly shorter than Marvin Gaye’s Anthology, but just as perfect. Three tunes, 11 minutes. “Tell Everyone We’re Dead” opens the seven-inch; it’s one of my favorite TPR tunes. Frontman Davey von Bohlen always had a knack for cadence in his lyrics, and I love the line “I’m gonna grow wings / And sing / Amen I’m checking out,” and it’s not even the chorus. “Best Looking Boys” is pretty good too, gradually building into an infectious blend of needling guitar and vox. “American Girl [Version 02]” hints at the quieter, more experimental path von Bohlen would pursue in the 00s, but in ’98 it was just a mellow way to close out a great release.

While they weren’t together for long, the idea of Matt Canino (see above) and Chris Bauermeister (ex-Jawbreaker) collaborating in Shorebirds gave me chills. While I found their eventual full-length to be a little underwhelming, the group issued a string of great seven-inches beforehand. Their tune doesn’t disappoint, nor does Canino’s other band, Hooky. I thought Black Bear beat them both, though. “We Fight This With Our Flesh” simultaneously recalls Hot Water Music and Ugly Organ-era Cursive. Awesome.

Vinyl Vednesday 1/13

[Vinyl Vednesday is a weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it kinda is. Since Picasso Blue is posting the top 50 EPs of the decade this week, VV will be looking at three of those picks on wax. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: The Gaslight Anthem’s Señor and the Queen (2008) on black, Shorebirds’ Shorebirds (2007) on clear orange, and Static Radio NJ’s One For the Good Guys (2007) on blue.

Place of Purchase: TGA came from Hot Topic. Shorebirds and SRNJ were both mail order (It’s still fun, kids!)

Thoughts: I hopped on the Gaslight Anthem Org-wagon circa Señor and the Queen, and man was it a good time to do so. The band’s debut Sink or Swim is OK, but Señor made me appreciate the band’s rabid following. Everything the band does well – Springsteenian tales of lovers and losers stuck in the swamps of Jersey, punk rock – clicks into place thanks to bigger hooks and better production values. I received a press copy of the CD version and picked up a vinyl pressing a few months later just because I loved the EP so much. My lone complaint is that I flip this double-45 after every song, which kind of kills the energy. That said, these remain the best songs Brian Fallon and co. have written so far.

Got-dammit, Shorebirds. I was obsessed with the band when they first turned out tunes. Shorebirds has been repressed a few times and sells at inflated prices on eBay now, but in ’07, it was a little-known seven-inch that you could only purchase via mail order. And when I say “mail order,” I don’t mean “ordered online,” which was the case with One For the Good Guys. I had to mail the band some discreetly hidden cash and, thankfully, they sent me the album. Not only that, but they wrote me a letter! I kept a correspondence going with frontman Matt Canino for the next year or so, which was pretty cool and retro and fun. That dude put up with my goofy bullshit and terrible handwriting for a long time.

My introduction to Static Radio NJ is about the same as Gaslight Anthem – their publicist mailed me their album, I liked it, and then I bought it on another format because I’m dumb/devoted like that. Plus, I have a tendency to keep adding things to my Chunksaah.com orders until they surpass $20. My favorite thing about Good Guys on vinyl is that the songs are so short that the band made the seven-inch one-sided. That’s right, you get seven songs on one side of a seven-inch. Throw in the part about SRNJ being president, vice-president, and treasurer of the Kid Dynamite Appreciation Society, and Good Guys becomes, scientifically speaking, one of the best EPs of the decade.