Holy Bat-Signal Batman; Is that a vinyl record or a ‘baterang’? – Where to buy S#!t vol. 2 – Mondo

February 24, 2015May 29, 2015 / ds barrett / 6 Comments

With a quicker step than usual Tristan and I would beat a hasty retreat from the ugly Mackinnon Building to the drafty basement of Johnston Hall; not because the food on campus was any better there than anywhere else, but because there was a TV.

The opening notes of Danny Elfman’s score would begin and then the greatest superhero show of them all would start – Batman: The Animated Series. A show so cool it didn’t even bother putting the name of it on during the opening theme.

During that first season in ‘92, it was on right after class and we wouldn’t say a word until the commercials. To this day, the debate over who is the best ‘Batman’ is so frickin obvious I scoff at anyone who denies it.

Kevin Conroy (the voice of the Bat & Bruce). You may never see him in the costume… but he is the Bat!

The official series may have finished many years ago, but to fans, it lives large in the psyche. So imagine my fan-boy glee when I’m looking at different types of collectibles and this appears…

The opening and closing themes on bat-shaped vinyl! Bat –shaped and with grey splatter on the variant limited edition. ( http://mondotees.com/products/batman-the-animated-series-die-cut-12-single?variant=967910731)

Now, that is the thing about Mondo (http://mondotees.com/), the good people who have released this glorious single, everything they do is limited and outstanding and is collectors gold. In fact, this isn’t even the first time they’ve released the theme on vinyl. Others in the series include covers of the Joker, Harley Quinn, Clayface and Man-Bat.

In terms of vinyl, they pretty much only release soundtracks. So, in addition to my bat-vinyl I also picked up the Jon Brions’ original soundtrack to Paranorman.

However, they got all kinds of wonderful things for those geeky folks who seem impossible to buy for. Iron Giant t-shirts, Fargo knit-wear, and a Gremlins Christmas sweater are hi-lights of the clothing, but it’s the posters and original artwork you really want to see.

Coinciding with the 75^th anniversary of Batman, there is certainly a lot of material for fans to choose from, but honestly, that just scrapes the surface. Big with Mondo is variant movie posters released in limited edition. They are mostly based on cult horror or sci-fi/fantasy films, and are absolutely incredible. Here are a couple examples…

The other thing that is a little on the insane side is the resale value, or at least what people are selling them for on e-bay.

This Guardians of the Galaxy poster originally sold for $60.00 and was limited to 750 copies.

On e-bay sellers are now asking for more than $750.00 for it. Oh, and don’t for one second think this is an anomaly. In ten minutes of research I could literally find dozens of examples. Just this week I tried to order an X-Men: Days Of Future Past poster and the damn thing sold out in the 45 minutes I was away from the computer. So, if you’re looking for a unique gift for that crazy super-fan or collector… keep an eye on Mondo. Now, maybe I could call Tristan up for a Batman: The Animated Series marathon. In fact, I think maybe a whole party or something… I am such a geek.

Superchunk: I Hate Music … (Just Kidding, because no one can hate music and do it this well)

February 21, 2015 / ds barrett / 1 Comment

There were quite a few bands that my roommate was into that took a bit of time for me to agree on. Usually it was pretty back and forth; I introduced him to Dinosaur Jr, he replied with Urge Overkill; I put on the Lemonheads and he replies with Sugar, but some stuff didn’t really stick.

Superchunk was one of those bands for me. I could appreciate what he was hearing, but other than the odd song (“Slack Motherfucker” is a frickin’ anthem of undeniable proportion) I just couldn’t get beyond the throwing then into a mix tape. Full albums just kinda slipped by me and never stood out in the collection as more than filler space.

So here we are more than twenty years later and Superchunk has me re-evaluating my attitude with an awesome frickin’ record, that even makes my kids play air guitar. Of course their excitement might have more to do with the fan made Lego video for “FOH”, but they really don’t need to apologise for that.

“Me & You & Jackie Mittoo” bursts out with ‘anthemic’ glee as Mac McCaughan sings “I hate music – what is it worth?/ Can’t bring anyone back to this earth / Or fill in the space between all of the notes / But I got nothing else so I guess here we go.”

I Hate Music is a brilliant alt-rock masterpiece that arrives twenty years after such things were ‘so-called’ fashionable. It’s fuzzed out guitars and vocals seeped in blasts to match. The overall sentiment a ‘tongue in cheek’ “screw you – I play rock ‘n’ roll because I want to, mixed with some of the darker crap that comes with… well for lack of a better term – being a fuckin’ adult.

http://www.mergerecords.com/i-hate-music

Beyond the tunes, the vinyl packaging for I Hate Music is phenomenal. For just a couple bucks more than the standard black disc, you get 150 gram coloured vinyl with a extra 7” inch single of unreleased material… and the damn 45 is white vinyl to boot. (You also get the download card, to put the album on your device of choice.)

So now that I Hate Music has finished playing I’m looking through my old CD’s for Superchunk’s Foolish with a sheepish grin on my face. I’m wondering if I should have been paying closer attention to my roommates pontificating about the finer points of Afghan Whigs or the Archers of Loaf or…

Holding history in my hand – The Posies: “I Am The Cosmos”

February 20, 2015April 13, 2015 / ds barrett / 3 Comments

Back in ’93 I was handed a copy of Big Star’s – Columbia: Live at the University of Missouri. It was my entrance into the world of Big Star. Previous to this I had heard the odd track on my campus radio station as well as seeing numerous references as influences by many of my favorite artists, but I had yet to hear a whole album. One song caught me right away.

Perhaps the greatest song the rock masses never heard is Chris Bell’s “I Am The Cosmos.” Even for those lucky enough to have heard Big Star back in the 70’s, “Cosmos” was a single that saw only limited release in Memphis in 1978 and certainly never attained (like Big Star itself) national attention. Bell himself would be killed in a car accident later the same year.

Still, like a few other legendary acts (The Velvet Underground, Flying Burrito Brothers) it seems that those that did listen became musicians themselves. By the early 90’s, power-pop was becoming ‘a thing’ and Big Star started showing up as influences for a plethora of alt-rock acts. So as “alternative-mania” was in full 1992 swing Fantasy Records released Big Star’s #1 Record and Radio City as a single CD, and Rycodisc released Third/Sister Lovers. In was at this point that the Posies covered “I Am The Cosmos” and “Feel.” Around the same time Rycodisc also released a compilation of Chris Bell solo material entitled I Am The Cosmos.

Now, what makes this single of the Posies an important part of music history is what happened the following year. Two students at the University of Missouri asked Alex Chilton if he would be interested in performing some Big Star songs for a concert. With Chilton in Jody Stephens (drums, vocals) also agreed but Andy Hummell refused(bass), which left a hole to be filled on bass, and second guitar for this to be pulled off. Names got tossed out like Mike Mills (REM), Matthew Sweet, Teenage Fanclub and Paul Westerberg, but nothing really stuck until Ardent Records (where Big Star had recorded) founder John Fry pulled a translucent blue single he had tacked to the wall down and gave it another listen.

That single led to the Posies being asked to fill in for Andy Hummell and the late Chris Bell. Not only was the concert a huge success, but it was also released as the live album already mentioned. Suddenly there was “new” music to be talked about with the old material, and word was getting out. A new generation were looking for Big Star records and finding them… something that didn’t happen when the band was originally together.

Of course this is total conjecture, but that single in combination with the re-release of Big Star’s three studio records, led us to todays Big Star revival. All three records have been re-released on audiophile vinyl with a great special edition of Third/Sisters Lovers being put out by Omnivore Records. Had Chilton not passed away in 2010 it is likely Big Star would have done an extensive tour.

“Cosmos” itself has been covered live by Big Star, the Posies, Beck, Wilco, This Mortal Coil and The Jayhawks to name but a very few. If only I could get my hands on that original single.

Of course that is one Chris Bell song. As for Alex Chilton and Big Star… well, it’ll take a few more posts to cover that.

Remember that great classic record… that never happened – The Deepest Soul of Otis Redding: Lonely & Blue

February 12, 2015February 13, 2015 / ds barrett / 1 Comment

A number of years ago I stood in front of a very large glass case. Wreckage from a plane and a name on the wall beside it was the sheer bullshit that the rock hall had displayed… as if this was some kind of legacy worthy of the talent that had been Otis Redding.

As I looked around this Cleveland cathedral there was no explanation as to who he was and why he was in the hall of fame. The man who had put the mighty Stax on his back and commanded that you listen; the soul king who had the greatest band, Booker T & the MG’s as his own personal musicians in the studio; this giant who was arguably the strongest voice to emerge out of soul music’s greatest era (that saw the height of careers such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James Brown); was reduced to a ridiculous display without context.

Message to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame…

If you are going to reflect on the legacy of a music “god”, you don’t create a display – “YOU BUILD A MOTHER FUCKIN’ ALTAR! SHRINE! & PYRAMID!”

Keeping that in mind, how would you create a new record worthy of that legacy?

Somehow the people at Stax records have managed just that… well, sort of.

Obviously Lonely &Blue is a compilation of previously released material, but wow, it was done right. While being a new collection it looks like a record put out in 1966. This includes a back cover testimonial about the potency of Redding written by the fictional Marty Hackman at WDHG Detroit and overall cover artwork that has the appearance of ‘record wear’ and stains.

The music itself is made up of Redding’s more ‘heart breaking’ material. Some of the songs are his more famous hits like “These Arms of Mine” and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)”, but of far more interest (to me) was the inclusion of lesser known tracks like “Waste of Time” and “Everybody Makes A Mistake” which had not been included in the 1993 Definitive Box Set. While playing a rather sad tone throughout the entire record, it also displays the emotional depth that Redding seemed to tap with ease.

In addition to the great music, Lonely & Blue was put together with the turntable in mind. Once you open the vintage style package you find yourself looking at a beautiful piece of blue translucent vinyl.

This compilation isn’t just a great introduction into Otis Redding, but it also stands out as a wonderful exploration into his well mined theme of sorrow. So grab a glass of red wine, turn the lights low, and let a genuine soul Titan take you away to another time and place… that seems very familiar all the same.

Life is just Cooler with a little Matthew Sweet – On The Path To Vinyl Glory

February 6, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

Originally I was going to do a music memories take on Matthew Sweet and his always fantastic Girlfriend… I still might, but other things have popped up to make this a bit more informational for music fans in general.

First Girlfriend was released on vinyl back in November with a slightly altered track listing. While the CD version contains 15 songs, the vinyl is cut down to 12 for space reasons. It seems that rather than picking and choosing someone’s ridiculous idea of weaker songs, they just dropped the last three tunes from the original 1991 Zoo release. (“Does She Talk?”, “Holy War” and “Nothing Lasts.”) It’s unfortunate really, it may have been a better idea to split the record onto two vinyl discs and add a couple ‘bonus’ tracks rather than remove anything… but whatcha gonna do.

Now I couldn’t find out if this Plain Recordings vinyl was remastered for vinyl or if it is taken from the CD master, but the sound quality is outstanding regardless. Having it burst from turntable to speakers gave me the same energized feel I got back in ’91 when it blasted out of my Walkman on my way to class.

The next two pieces of info are a little bit ahead of the curve this time so, if you are a fan, this is great news.

Last June, Sweet’s Facebook page announced a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a new record. By mid July he had reached his goal and a new record should be showing up around April of this year. It was a pretty good campaign that included rewards such as downloads CD’s coloured vinyl and original artwork by Sweet himself.

Also, Blue Sky On Mars (1997) has been released on vinyl in Europe (by Music On Vinyl), and has just landed here. Amazon has it on a 3 – 5 week delivery, but one of my favorite retailers, Northern Volume, has it in stock now. It’s on 180 gram audiophile vinyl and has a gatefold cover with insert.

http://www.northernvolume.com/matthew-sweet-blue-sky-on-mars-180g-audiophile-vinyl-lp-record-from-music-on-vinyl/

If you are unfamiliar with Blue Sky On Mars, it is the last in a string of four records (Girlfriend, Altered Beast, 100% Fun & BSOM) Sweet put out on Zoo, and remain arguably his most well known. On this record he adds elements of the 70’s Todd Rundgren produced Cars to his usual Big Star inspired power-pop for what I’ll call a bit more of a carnival ride atmosphere. It swings in such a way that during the albums heavier moments it reminds you of the blasting rhythms you hear playing from the classic “Polar Express” ride at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition). Sure, as always, critics have complained that Sweet’s music comes off a little too ‘syrupy’ to make for a lasting impression, but honestly, I’ve always found those complaints to be a bit short sighted. To my ears, he has always had one foot in the guitar driven tunes of the 70’s while the other is standing in the premier pop of Burt Bacharach and Harry Nillson. If anything, as demonstrated by his cover records with Susanna Hoffs, Sweet has a soft spot for the well produced and hooky in all genres.

Anyway, I’ll likely own the vinyl within the week and I highly encourage you to give it a listen.

On The Path To Vinyl Glory – Dinosaur Jr.: Bug Live @ the 9:30 Club

January 30, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

Back by popular demand, another round of Dinosaur Jr’s Bug Live @ the 9:30 Club. The Original limited release back in 2012 was in two colours. 800 copies were in were in translucent green and another 200 in purple. They sold out quick.

Original 2012 Release

So now it’s 2015 and Outer Battery Records has decided to do a second run. This time the release is both slightly more limited and less at the same time. The more exclusive edition is a white and purple splatter vinyl that will see only 300 made and has to be ordered direct from Outer Battery. The regular edition that will hit record stores on February 10^th will be on red vinyl.

New 2015 Release (http://www.outerbatteryrecords.com/products/dinosaur-jr-bug-live)

The original green vinyl sounded great on the turntable and it sounds as if the new release is taken from the same masters.

Now as for a review, well, Bug Live is a phenomenal documentation of the Dinosaur Jr. with their best line up. While most fans are more familiar with the bands 90’s output on the major label Sire (Green Mind, Where You Been, Without A Sound, Hand It Over), there most powerful music came from the line up of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph who appeared together on their first three records (Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me and Bug). Apparently, creative tensions between Mascis and Barlow led to the departure of Barlow, and it wasn’t long after that Murph left.

Regardless the three started recording and touring again in 2005 and have released several very well received records since. This album was recorded live in 2011 and captures the band playing a highly energized performance of their 1988 release Bug.

If you are even a passing fan of Dinosaur Jr. then I’d suggest that this is a bit of an opportunity to expand both your listening experience with a great live record and own a pretty damn awesome collectible at the same time.

Where To Buy Shi… Stuff #2 – Let Them Eat Vinyl

January 23, 2015 / ds barrett / 3 Comments

Birthdays are awesome! Or at least, my birthday is pretty awesome. There is people you love and food and if you’re lucky, cool presents too. Sometimes the gifts can even surprise you. For instance, one of my most awesome sisters gave me the gift of records – which I love, AND, it was one I didn’t even know existed – even cooler!

Which brings me to this edition of Cool Places to Buy Sh… Stuff…

The gift I got was the Ramones The Cretin Hop manufactured by the good people at Let Them Eat Vinyl. The Cretin Hop itself is a bootleg taken from a 1979 radio broadcast with a couple tunes added on from appearances on Letterman and the Tonight Show. This printing is a 180 gram yellow translucent double album housed in a pretty cool gatefold sleeve and limited to 1000 copies with further albums to be made in black vinyl thereafter. The quality of sound is exactly what one should expect from a live show. It is rough around the edges, but sounds exactly like a Ramones concert should be without the frills and clutter of overdubs and tinkering sounds that plague most major artists live albums. (Honestly, if you flub a part, leave it or pick a different night.)

It also seems to be part of a loosely based series of albums taken from various radio broadcasts of different acts in their prime. Along with the Ramones you’ll find Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Flying Burrito Brothers, Pixies, Patti Smith, Lemonheads and many others all in similar black and white gatefold sleeve covers. In addition to the Ramones I also have Joe Walsh’s All Night Long which is on 140 gram vinyl and limited to 500 copies. The sound on this one is great, and seems to be a pretty perfect example of Walsh live. (Oddly, whoever wrote the liner notes for the Walsh album needs to Google a little more often as they mix song appearances from the movie soundtrack of The Warriors.)

The story doesn’t end there. Besides putting out some quality bootlegs, Let Them Eat Vinyl has been responsible for putting the Ramones re-issues out on vinyl for a few years now. It looks like their first wave was all 180 gram limited edition coloured vinyl while the further editions were released on the more standard 180 gram black vinyl.

If you are looking for some quality bootlegs from an assortment of great artists, you should check out the Let Them Eat Vinyl catalogue. You might find something you like. (Can’t wait for my birthday this year.)

http://www.letthemeatvinyl.com/catalogue.htm

“WTF” The Mystery of the Beatles: Sgt Peppers 1978 – On the Path to Vinyl Glory #2

January 21, 2015 / ds barrett / 3 Comments

Just before Christmas I was flipping through the pages of e-bay, day dreaming about all the expensive things that I neither need nor can afford, when I came across a listing for one of the greatest albums ever released – The Beatles: Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Now ordinarily I might not have stopped to look seeing as I already have a couple versions, but this was a grey marble style vinyl, and it was priced ‘under’ thirty dollars.

“WTF”

I placed a bid, not expecting to actually win and the family and I left to spend a couple seasonal days with my in-laws.

Upon my return I found out I won…, again – “WTF”

So now I need to find out what I’ve bought and why it was worth owning.

Well, this particular piece of wax was a limited version put out in Canada only in the year 1978. At first this seemed really damned strange. Why Canada only? Why 1978? Why Sgt Peppers?

A little research, a bit of conjecture and two of the questions are answered. 1978 was the year one of the worst music based movies ever was released… Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. A movie so bad it pretty much killed the careers of both the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.

Anyway, it seems the record execs thought the movie would garner renewed interest in the Fab Four, and so different parts of their catalogue were re-released in ‘special editions.’ However, things get a little weird after this. In the U.S., Peppers was released as a picture disc and then varying colours in different countries.

Abbey Road was also released in picture disc form in the U.S. while the White Album was released in the U.K. on white vinyl. From what I can tell, it seems that each countries own division of EMI was putting out something a little different in each place.

The final result seems to be a virtual plethora of Beatles vinyl coming out of 1978. The unfortunate part of this is that while the music is on a solid vinyl (140 gram I think), it doesn’t hold up against the CD or the recently re-mastered vinyl editions in both stereo and mono. It is definitely a cool collectible that can be found at a decent price, but it isn’t anything more than that.

The Mystery of Elastica (and Alan Cross) – On the Path to Vinyl Glory

January 19, 2015February 14, 2015 / ds barrett / 1 Comment

So, I’m driving in the car the other day when an episode of Alan Cross’ Adventures in Vinyl pops on the radio featuring Elastica. (http://www.edge.ca/2014/12/11/adventures-in-vinyl-elastica-line-up-1995/) I think cool, I enjoy listening to Cross and I love this little piece of 90’s nostalgia with a band I quite enjoy. Towards the end of the episode he mentions that Elastica ‘may’ be releasing a heavyweight vinyl edition of their debut for Record Store Day 2015. News of this was pretty damn perky to my ears, so I was excited to hear about it. The very next day, I’m in my local record store looking through the bins for a re-issue that I had yet to get my hands on, when “BANG” there is the Elastica debut. I immediately flip it to check the record company and date, and it is marked 2014 Kanine Records. Beyond that, it doesn’t say much. So, I buy it… with some trepidation as I don’t want to be shelling cash out again in April for the same thing I am now. I mean the heavyweight vinyl with booklet or extensive liner notes sounds awesome, but it also makes this piece of wax a little redundant. http://kaninerecords.com/product/elastica-elastica/ At home I open it to discover this very cool translucent red vinyl that would have been perfect for… you guessed it, Record Store Day. So, as the turntable spins and the first notes of “Connection” start sending vibrations through the floor, my youngest (6) starts doing his interpretive dance and I begin to google. From what I could piece together, Kanine Records was supposed to have issued the Elastica eponymous album for Record Store Day 2014 (April), but it was delayed. Instead this edition was released a month later in May of 2014. It is a pretty slick looking record that sounds great, but… What about 2015? The Kanine web site has no mention of their 2015 releases for Record Store Day (but it is still early), and a quick note to Alan Cross via ‘102.1 the Edge’ (I’m sure he is very busy) hasn’t resulted in any answers. So, is this it for the Elastica debut, or is some better edition coming down the pipe in April? Seeing as Kanine has this version as ‘sold out’ it might make for a decent second run… Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Top New Vinyl Releases 2014 – Honourable Mention

January 15, 2015 / ds barrett / Leave a comment

Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters

Roswell Records

Sonic Highways Vinyl

The most frickin’ expensive record I paid for last year and I’m not happy about it. The shipping cost was almost the price of the record, than I got nabbed for duty, than UPS thought I didn’t pay and tried to make me pay a second time… arrrrrrr!

Why did I go through the trouble?

Well, there was this cardboard 7” cover of Roky Erickson’s “Two-Headed Dog” that came with the pre-order. You could only get it through the advance order and I’m a sucker for cool collectibles, so a small fortune was paid out. Funny thing is people on e-bay are trying to sell that same 7” now for between $60 and $90.

Sukierae by Tweedy

dBpm Records

http://wilco.kungfustore.com/music-and-books/projects/sukierae-vinyl-lp.html

Another problem record but this time there was an easy and awesome resolution. My initial copy was warped and played like crap. I wrote the distributor and was expecting to jump through a bunch of hoops. Nope. They fired a message right back that a new copy was on the way. So, I only had to wait an extra few days. With the ‘yellow swirl’ vinyl was a copy of the CD (standard with the vinyl purchase) and I was a very happy camper.

Commonwealth by Sloan

Yep Roc Records

Great record! This double album came in two 180 gram vinyl records with download card and a 12” poster of the band as playing cards.

They Want My Soul by Spoon

Republic Records

Outstanding record musically and came as a copy of 180 gram white vinyl. Beautiful piece of work.

Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention this folks…

Real fans BUY their music!

(and great fans buy the music from the band directly because they know the artist will actually see some money from their work.)

barrettbites

Vinyl and Collectibles reviewed and geeked about!

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