Record stores, mixtapes, and one nerd.

Empire Records and High Fidelity are in my top five movies of all time. Those movies planted a idea in my head and heart, that working in a record store would be the best job in the world. Now the three to four people who are reading this probably think I'm crazy. But think about it, you're surrounded by music, you listen to music (in the background I know.), and you get to talk about music. (Which will lead to discovering new music.)

It is a win-win in my book. When I told my birth dad I wanted to work in a record store like the characters in Empire Records. He wanted to remind me that they didn't have these action packed days of a shoplifter named Warren Beatty coming in the store. Me being the young punk that I am, "I know that. I just want to being around music." I snapped back.

For the music lover, the ultimate dream is work in a record store. You imagine using your music knowledge to impress anyone who will listen. You dream of pulling a Rob Gordon move of selling five copies of "The Three Eps" by The Beta Band. (Yea, I have fallen for that trick on a few occasions. Hey, it's how I discovered Death Cab For Cutie and Coconut Records. Don't judge me.) Every music lover at one point dreams of working at a record store.

While the reality may not be as cool as the movies, I don't care. I still want to work in a record store.

What plugged in the headphones? The XX-"Stars" from the album "XX" (2009)

The band I can't stop listening to.

Lately, there has one band on my ipod that has been getting a lot of play. The band is called The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. They are from Brooklyn, New York. Thank you, Brooklyn. They released a self-titled album that came out this year. This is for sure going to be in my top five records of the year.

This band takes everything I love about shoegaze then mixes a dash of Belle and Sebastian, and then adds synth right into the mix. They make this really good dream pop that is catchy and upbeat. Check out their video for their song, "Everything With You"



What plugged in the headphones? The Good Life-"Waiting on Wild Horses" from the album "Novena on a Nocturn" (2000)

Going to record stores vs. itunes.

So I have finally joined the digital age of music when I decided to pump some much need money to the economy by buying an ipod. The reason I finally broke down and bought one is because I love the idea of having my music collection in my pocket. I could listen to my favorite bands at the click of a button. So after some internet research, it was better to buy myself ipod classic, 120 gbs all dedicated to my love of music.

The day after tax day I got my return, my step-dad went with me to our local best buy. I got my ipod and I was out the door. The clerk said, "Now instead of going to a record store, you can just go to itunes. it is so much cheaper." This got me thinking were my record store buying days over? Did I become a part of what the music purists call "the problem"...

That afternoon I spent five hours uploading cds, I upload all my favorites Belle and Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Smiths, Deerhunter, and many more. With record day approaching, it made me think did itunes take away the record store?

My answer is no. Tonight I did the itunes thing and bought an ep for 2.97 by Camera Obscura that other wise I would have paid ten bucks for. The price was nice but the romance wasn't there. There is a romanticism in going to a record store. The people watching to see what other are buying. The hours upon hours spent in new release bin, the vinyl bin, or the use bin looking for that rare find. The gem that you spent your whole life looking for. There is so much beauty in going to the record store and spending your afternoon debating if you should buy that extra piece of music. Then taking it home unwrapping the plastic and looking at the amazing artwork. (But that goes into the whole death of the album debate which will be another blog topic I will go into.)

So on saturday, I found myself at my hometown record store Lovell's enjoying record store day. Debating whether or not I should get that extra piece of music or should I should I shell out a few extra bucks to get the deluxe version. Those memories hold up way more than typing a search in i-tunes.

What plugged in the headphones? Yeah Yeah Yeahs-"Soft Shock" from the album "It's Blitz!" (2009)

Record store day!

This Saturday on April 18, 2009 will be record store day! This is an excellent day to go out to your favorite independently own record store and just support them. Some independent stores are going to have special things going on whether it is performances from bands or solo artists. Some places are going to have Djs through the day spinning some great records.
It will be a great day keep the independent record store alive and well.


"The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived by Chris Brown, and was founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.

This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, djs spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Franscisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April."-From the record store day website.


Check out this website to find a local independent store near you, so you can celebrate record store day.
http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home

What's plugged in the headphones? Blonde Redhead-"Doll Is Mine" from the album "Misery Is A Butterfly" (2004)

It has been way too long.

I'll have a new write up soon. There has been so much good music out lately. That my wallet and my time has been having trouble keeping up with it all. So far, I've been really digging new releases from Beirut, Appleseed Cast, Andrew Bird, Antony and the Johnsons, as well discovering stuff I missed out on in 2008! I will be doing some write up soon. Plus I found a really cool mixtape I made a few years back. Which lead a trip to Hollywood to buy some blank cassette tapes. If vinyl is making a comeback than so should the mixtape. But that will be another blog.

What's plugged in the headphones? Blur-"Tender" from the album "The Best Of Blur" (2007)

The Smashing Pumpkins.

Last night, I took the time to rediscover an old favorite. This album made me fall in love with music. It was the album that changed my sixth grade mind. This album was by The Smashing Pumpkins and it was called "Mellon Collide and The Infinite Sadness". It was 1995, I remember watching mtv and hearing this song called "Bullet With Butterfly Wings." The visuals of the video wasn't like anything I seen before. The guitar and drums spoke to me. I became obsessed with getting this double album. So on Christmas Eve there it was on cassette tape, Smashing Pumpkins' "Mellon Collide and The Infinite Sadness".

I remember having this little crappy guitar and just trying to play along to this album. One day, I remember popping this cassette in my stereo and singing the song, "Muzzle" at the top of my lungs. There also many a night I had my walkman tucked in my arms and headphones on my ears, listening to "Stumbleine".
Every time I listened to this album I found a new favorite I was in love with. For about year and half this album was constantly by side. If it wasn't for this album I wouldn't have been into the bands that I'm into today. This album really shaped my love for music.

What's plugged in the headphones? Explosions In The Sky-"A Song For Our Fathers" from the album "How Strange, Innocence" (2000)

Top Albums of 2008

So yes, I know that 2008 is over. But I still want to talk about my favorite albums of 2008. I was still listening to albums that were released in 2008 up until the very end.



The list of my favorite albums of 2008. You might find some surprises on my list. But then again if you know me than you won't be surprised. (Because you heard me talk about some of these bands.)

The Gaslight Anthem-"59' Sound"
One of the greatest straight up pure rock and roll records to come along in a long time. This record came along when I wasn't sure what I wanted to listen to. It came along as a breath of fresh air.

Death Cab For Cutie-"Narrow Stairs"
To me this album is sad and beautiful all at the same time. Lyrically, this is Ben Gibbard's darkest work but it speaks of a beauty that is hard to pin point. Musically, it comes together very well. Chris Walla's production is brilliant as usual.

Foals-"Antidotes"
This group of Englishmen write the best shoe taping music. I decided to listen to this album on the bus and my shoes kept taping the whole way to work. The album is catchy and danceable but not your typical dancey indie pop rock. This album was played on many trips to work. I'm shocked that more people aren't talking about this record. It is beautiful.

MGMT-"Oracular Spectacular"
This album took me a very a long time to get into. I admit I didn't like this band when I first heard the singles, "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel" but their song "Kids" caught my ears attention. So I gave the other singles a chance and fell in love. So of course I had to get the album. I put the disc in and hated it. This album I had to invest time to let the album grow on me. Soon it became one of my favorite albums of 2008.

Mates of State-"Re-Arrange Us"
I can't really explain put my finger on why I love this record so much. But I just do. The songwriting of Kori Gardner and her husband Jason Hammel is beautiful. The arrangements of some of those songs just made me smile. The addition of horns and piano made a nice touch. Personally, I think it was one of the most amazing pop records ever.

She & Him-"Volume: One"
I have to admit when I heard the girl from "Elf" was making a record. I was wondering, if this would work. Then when I heard she would be working with M. Ward I was surprised. Well with out hearing anything before I bought this record on a whim of retail therapy. The next day I unwrapped the package pop the disc in my cd player and put the headphones on, I was surprised how good the songs are. This album is a modern classic.

Hot Chip-"Made In The Dark"
"Give me something dancey. I want something I can dance along to," I said one day to my friend. She told me she was enjoying this band called Hot Chip. So I bought the album on the spot. One night, I decided to put it on as I waited for the bus. This album's beats and layers of music were so sick. Every time I listen to this album I hear something new.

Los Campesinos!-"Now Hold On, Youngster..."
One fateful late night, I was flipping the channels and saw the video to "Death To Los Campesinos!" In that instant my life had changed, I had a mindset. I had to have this record. I needed this band in my life. When I finally got this album in the mail, I had to listen to it right away. This album was filled with everything I love about music; energetic music, filled with keyboards, great guitars, drums, and tongue in cheek lyrics.

Los Campesinos!-"We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed"
Los Campesinos! released two albums in one year?!? Well lead singer Gareth Campesinos says, "We view it as an extended ep, like an EEP" This extended-ep is much more polished then "Now Hold On, Youngster." The lyrics on this album more heart on their sleeve and confessional but still have that nice tongue in cheek bite to them. Musically, this record is so much more tighter but has that same energy that made me fall in love with Los Campesinos!

Sigur Ros-"Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust"
This is my favorite record of 2008. Sigur Ros has always been on my top five list of favorite bands. This album is their best work to date. They took huge risk musically on this album. I have to admit myself I was scared. To hear that my favorite band was going to try acoustic guitars, horns, and one song in which lead singer Jonsi Birgisson would be singing in English. But the risk paid off. It is a more stripped down Sigur Ros but you still have all those lovely layers that make Sigur Ros so great. Their musical risk gave me my personal number one album of 2008.


What's plugged in the headphones? Sigur Ros-"All Alright" from the album "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust" (2008)