Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Rolling Stones Play Surprise Show at Tiny L.A. Club




The Rolling Stones played a surprise gig at a small night club in L.A. over the weekend.  Read more here.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

On the turntable this Sunday...The Slider




The Slider is the seventh studio album by British rock band T. Rex, released on 21 July 1972. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was the band's second record released with their new glam rock style opposed to the band's previous folk oriented music.

Singles of "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru" were released to promote the album. The Slider peaked at number four on United Kingdom charts and number seventeen on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. The album received very high praise from critics, with an Allmusic review describing the album as "flawlessly executed, and every bit the classic that its predecessor is."

On the recommendation of Elton John, The Slider was recorded outside of Paris at Château d'Hérouville to avoid British taxing laws.  Production started on March 1972 and the basic recordings were completed in Strawberry Studios in five days.  One of the songs recorded at Chateau was "Metal Guru".  Bolan described the song as a "festival of life song" and that he related "Metal Guru" to "all gods around...someone special, a godhead. I thought how god would be, he'd be all alone without a telephone".

Further recording was done at the end of March in Rosenberg Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.  The backing vocals by Flo & Eddie were recorded in Elektra Studios in Los Angeles in April.

Two singles were released to promote The Slider. The first was "Telegram Sam" which was released January 1972 and charted in the United Kingdom for 12 weeks and peaked at number one.  "Telegram Sam" also charted in the United States and peaked at 67 on the Pop Singles chart. The second single was "Metal Guru" which was released in May 1972 and charted in the United Kingdom for 14 weeks and peaked at number one.  It didn't chart in the United States.

The Slider was one of T. Rex's best-selling releases. The Slider entered the United Kingdom charts on 5 August 1972 where it charted for 18 weeks, peaking at number four.  In the United States, where the album was promoted upon release with a television commercial featuring the band miming to "Chariot Choogle," it peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart.

The Slider was remastered for CD by Edsel Records in 1994 as part of their extensive T.Rex reissue campaign and a number of bonus tracks were added. A companion release, entitled Rabbit Fighter (The Alternative Slider), was released in 1995 which contained alternative versions and radio sessions of the main album and bonus tracks.  A combined CD digipak of these releases was issued in 2002. Also in 2002, further recordings from the Slider sessions were released by Thunderwing Productions Limited (TPL), the owners of several original ¼", 1" and 2" Master Tape recordings of Marc Bolan & T.Rex. These tracks were released as The Slider Recordings. In 2010, The Slider was remastered and reissued by Fat Possum Records. The remastering was done by Chicago Mastering

The song "Ballrooms of Mars" was featured in the 2003 comedy film "School of Rock".

The album credits Ringo Starr with the front and back cover photographs. The photograph was taken the same day that Ringo Starr was filming the T Rex documentary Born to Boogie at John Lennon's estate, Ascot. Tony Visconti, however, disputes that Starr took the photograph. Instead, he said, "...In fact Marc handed me his motorized Nikon and asked me to fire off two rolls of black and white film while we were on the set of "Born To Boogie." Ringo, the director of the film, was busy all day lining up shots. But Marc apparently saw a photo "credit" opportunity and gave Ringo the credit for the photos."

Friday, April 26, 2013

George Jones Dies at 81

Country music legend George Jones has died at age 81. Please follow the link below to read more.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/apr/26/country-music-star-george-jones-dead-81/?local


Jimmy Page’s Manager Talks ‘Rooting Around in the Led Zeppelin Archives’ for Upcoming Reissues (Ultimate Classic Rock)



Please follow the link to read more about the upcoming Led Zeppelin reissues...and start saving, now!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Run!


My buddy, Will, who runs this very site, is an avid runner. He runs all the time. He's probably running right now.

I am - well, to put it charitably, let's just say I'm "less active."

Will is definitely motivated to get up and go running. In fact, he's been doing it so long, it's just a part of his routine now. I'll bet he probably gets really annoyed when he can't go running. Weird, right?

And, he's got a cool app that tracks his steps and average speed and distance, and it pulls that data into some really meaningful statistics for him. Like, I'll bet he's easily run the equivalent of New York to L.A., and probably even back again. Those statistics provide some interesting feedback.

I'm in a totally different camp. Running is just not something that I am motivated to do. I would much rather organize my iTunes library. But with my schedule, it's probably the easiest form of healthy activity that I can add into my life right now. And I really want to do it. More physical activity = Better quality of life. I get it. I do have the desire to become more healthy and to run, just not the motivation.

Enter my own app discovery, Zombies, Run!  Zombies, Run! incorporates some game-like elements into the real world activity of, you guessed it, running. You are Runner 5, dropped into this game world, and the story unfolds as you collect items and supplies, expand your home base, and run from flesh eating Walkers.

Except these zombies don't amble like they do in most movies. They're fast. And at some points in the game, they give chase, and you need to run faster for a short period of time to outrun them. Using the GPS location service in your smart phone, the application "knows" whether or not you've really run faster, and if you were fast enough to evade the zombies. Failing to run faster, or not fast enough, means getting caught, losing supplies, or even failing the mission.


The app can also record the distance, time, pace, and calories burned on each mission through the use of the phone's GPS or accelerometer. I haven't used that, and I don't know if I will. It would probably be interesting to see that feedback, but hey, my goal is to get outside and, as they say, "just do it."

One brilliant aspect of the game, at least for me, is that you can also incorporate your own running playlist. You get updates to the story in between your songs, and it's during your songs that you hear the zombies behind you and need to pour on that extra sprint.

Here's my current "Outrun the Horde" mix:



It's a little heavy on the metal side.

The app does what it's supposed to do, and what I wanted it to do: Get me outside, and moving. 


And so far, it's working. I am more motivated to get out and run.


At least until Walking Dead's Season 3 is available to stream on Netflix.

-Shawn



P.S. I get no compensation from the makers of the Zombies, Run! app, nor through any affiliate program. I just like the concept, how it interacts with music I really like, and the fact that it got me moving. And, I don't want to end up like this. Cheers!


On the turntable this Sunday: Rock of Ages




Rock of Ages: The Band in Concert is a live album by The Band, released in 1972 on Capitol Records, catalogue SABB 11045. It was compiled from recordings made during their series of shows at the Academy of Music in New York City, from December 28 through 31, 1971. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The Band booked a residency at the Academy of Music for the last week of 1971, culminating in a New Year's Eve performance. Robbie Robertson had commissioned New Orleans songwriter and arranger Allen Toussaint to compose horn charts for their recent single "Life Is A Carnival" from the album Cahoots, and decided to have Toussaint write special charts for a five-man horn section to augment the group on their upcoming concerts. Charts written by Toussaint in New Orleans were in luggage lost at the airport, and a new set were composed in a cabin near Robertson's house in Woodstock after a late-autumn snow had blanketed the area.  Robertson selected eleven songs to receive horn charts, and all are included on the released album. The horns do not play on "Get Up Jake", "Stage Fright," "This Wheel's on Fire," "The Weight," "The Shape I'm In," and "The Genetic Method." Selections on the bonus disc also do not feature horn arrangements, with the exception of Dylan's "Down in the Flood."

The repertoire consisted of material from all four of The Band's studio albums up to that point, which were framed on the album by covers of the 1964 Motown hit single "Baby Don't You Do It" by Marvin Gaye, and the b-side "(I Don't Want to Hang Up) My Rock and Roll Shoes" to the final single by Chuck Willis in 1958, "What Am I Living For." The bulk of the recordings on the released album were derived from either the December 30 or the December 31 show, while the tracks on the bonus disc come from December 28 and 29 as well. Since Garth Hudson interpolates "Auld Lang Syne" into his solo piece "The Genetic Method," it can be assumed that track and "Chest Fever" were played at midnight, December 31. Their previous employer Bob Dylan made a surprise visit on the New Year's Eve show, playing four songs with the group in the early morning hours of January 1, 1972.

Originally released in 1972 as a double album, it was reissued in 1980 as two separate LPs, titled Rock of Ages, Vol. 1 and Rock of Ages, Vol. 2. The first edition for compact disc in 1987 ostensibly edited several tracks to fit the program onto a single disc; an unedited two-disc version followed in 1990. On May 8, 2001, an expanded and remastered two-disc edition appeared, with the original album on one disc, and an additional ten tracks on a bonus disc. Included on the bonus disc were the four songs featuring Dylan and another Motown cover, the 1966 hit single "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" by The Four Tops.

The 2005 retrospective Band box set A Musical History contains several Rock of Ages tracks newly remixed from the multitrack tapes, as well as a previously-unissued performance of the song "Smoke Signal" from the December 28 show. A hybrid SACD reissue of the original album was released on the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab label in 2010.

The song "Chest Fever" from this album is available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Wild Honey Records: Record Store Day 2013


Our good friends at Wild Honey Records are set to celebrate Record Store Day 2013 in their new location 1206 Kenesaw Avenue (in the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood.)  

The doors will open at 9am and the festivities will  last until 10pm.  

The Plaid Apron (next door) will be serving breakfast at 8am and Wild Honey will have a vast selection of RSD exclusives and vintage vinyl on sale.  See you there!!


Thursday, April 18, 2013

Disc Exchange: Record Store Day 2013




Our friends at Disc Exchange have another great day planned for Record Store Day 2013, this Saturday, April 20th!  

With well over 400 exclusive and limited LP's and CD's only available at indie record stores, the Disc Exchange will also have live music all afternoon with Sub Blue Collar, The Steeldrivers, Kelsey's Woods, Cutthroat Shamrock, Echoes, and Guy Marshall.   

Food and drinks from Remedy Coffee, Three Bears Coffee Co, Savory & Sweet Truck, Bull's BBQ, Campfire Hot Dogs, Scrumps Cupcakes, Quiznos and free beer samples from Eagle Distributing Co.

Door prizes and ticket giveaways including Hangout Fest/Forecastle and a used vinyl sidewalk sale to boot.

Don't miss it!!!


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lost & Found Records:Record Store Day 2013





Our friends at Lost & Found Records in Knoxville are planning another big celebration for Record Store Day 2013....  

In addition to the exclusive RSD releases and awesome selection of vintage vinyl, be sure to come out and enjoy a full day of live music from Rough and Tumble, Hudson K, Blaine Band, Tim Lee, Itchy & The Hatertots, The Vaygues, Burning Itch, and Big Bad Oven.  As if that wasn't enough, free beer on tap and a Louisiana crawfish boil that starts at 11:00 AM.  

We will see you there!!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Record Store Day 2013



Only days away, this year's Record Store Day promises to be bigger than ever.  

Please follow the link to see the complete listing of exclusives and releases coming out on Saturday!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

On the turntable this Sunday...Private Eyes




Private Eyes is the tenth studio album from Daryl Hall and John Oates, released in 1981. The album includes two #1 hits — the title track, "Private Eyes" and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)," as well as the Top Ten hit "Did It in a Minute." "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" also spent a week at the top of the R&B charts – a rare accomplishment for a "white" act.
Though the act had hit the upper reaches of the Billboard charts with "She's Gone," "Sara Smile," and "Rich Girl", the group didn't return to major mainstream success until they released a cover version of The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" on its 1980 album, Voices. The heavy airplay eventually led to the duo's first Number One hit in four years, the Voices release, "Kiss on My List" in early 1981.
As the liner notes to the 2004 Private Eyes reissue indicate, it was while Daryl Hall and John Oates were recording the follow-up album in their adopted hometown of New York City, during the spring of 1981, that "Kiss On My List" went to Number One in three trade publications. Determined to follow up on their success, the duo produced Private Eyes assisted by their co-producer Neil Kernon.

Track listing:
Side One
1."Private Eyes" (Sara Allen, Janna Allen, Daryl Hall, Warren Pash) - 3:39
2."Looking for a Good Sign" (Hall) - 3:57
3."I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" (S. Allen, Hall, John Oates) - 5:09
4."Mano a Mano" (Oates) - 3:56
5."Did It in a Minute" (S. Allen, J. Allen, Hall) - 3:39
Side Two
1."Head Above Water" (S. Allen, Hall, Oates) - 3:36
2."Tell Me What You Want" (S. Allen, Hall) - 3:51
3."Friday Let Me Down" (S. Allen, Hall, Oates) - 3:35
4."Unguarded Minute" (S. Allen, Hall, Oates) - 4:10
5."Your Imagination" (Hall) - 3:34
6."Some Men" (Hall) - 4:15

Personnel
Daryl Hall: Lead & Backing Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin, Keyboards, Synthesizers. Mandocello, Vibraphone, Percussion, Mandola
John Oates: Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Lead & Backing Vocals, Mando-Guitars
Jerry Marotta: Drums, Percussion
Jimmy Maelen: Percussion
Charles DeChant: Keyboards, Saxophone
Larry Fast: Synthesizer Programming
Ray Gomez: Guitars
Mickey Curry: Drums, Percussion
John Siegler: Bass
G.E. Smith, Jeff Southworth: Additional Electric & Acoustic Guitars
John Jarett: Backing Vocals
Chuck Burgi: Drums, Percussion

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Tom Marshall Shares New Song Written with Trey Anastasio



Tom Marshall, longtime songwriting partner and friend of Trey Anastasio, recently released a new track "Hotbox" written in 2011.  Follow the link to listen.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Sunday, April 7, 2013

On the turntable this Sunday...The Grand Illusion



The Grand Illusion is the seventh studio album by Styx, released on July 7, 1977 (7/7/77). The album launched the band to stardom, spawning the hit singles "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling Yourself", and selling over three million copies in the US.

According to keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, the album's theme was the struggle to overcome self-deluding superficiality in order to affirm one's genuine value. This theme was reflected in the lyrics of the album's title track:

so if you think your life is complete confusion
'cause your neighbor's got it made
just remember that it's a grand illusion
and deep inside we're all the same

The title of The Grand Illusion had been considered dating back to the 1975 album Equinox.

The track "Miss America" was guitarist James Young's scathing attack on the Miss America pageant. The idea for the song came to him in the middle of the night; its sole riff was inspired by the Jethro Tull song "Minstrel in the Gallery". The song gained notoriety as an example of life imitating art during the 1983 scandal in which nude photographs of reigning Miss America Vanessa Williams were published in Penthouse magazine.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013