tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71608147149431814412024-03-17T22:04:23.564-05:00My So-Called SoundtrackWill Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16517005274385407385noreply@blogger.comBlogger482125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-66306123793465480762023-11-09T14:18:00.002-06:002023-11-09T14:20:19.038-06:00R.E.M. – Reveal and Accelerate [Vinyl Reissues]<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoWwpl9pPdTRiq0_yEPInm_2b1yJ8orBlQj3cC96vSXrbCs4z6WMgf5LClft_a1GZn24jfR7QvWaXxly0wRPDLGoesvew2wHr5poOq2QsRzfKZytu0UnEIVYio7eijOqWVnycToO85B6UlCVom9s9aqTG8LUsofTEzysTVci5r5UwXrDKIW28HBpPwzqh/s1000/rem627bundle.png" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQoWwpl9pPdTRiq0_yEPInm_2b1yJ8orBlQj3cC96vSXrbCs4z6WMgf5LClft_a1GZn24jfR7QvWaXxly0wRPDLGoesvew2wHr5poOq2QsRzfKZytu0UnEIVYio7eijOqWVnycToO85B6UlCVom9s9aqTG8LUsofTEzysTVci5r5UwXrDKIW28HBpPwzqh/s320/rem627bundle.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">It’s certainly been a great year to be an R.E.M. fan. Along with the extensive 25th anniversary reissue of 1998’s <i>Up</i> (their first post-Berry album) going on right now and all of the extra love given to “Strange Currencies” (from 1994’s <i>Monster</i>) during season two of FX/Hulu’s <i>The Bear</i> this summer, we also got an incredible reissue campaign from the band’s partnership with Craft Recordings that generated a quartet of late-era reissues on high quality, 180-gram vinyl: 2001’s <i>Reveal</i>, 2004’s <i>Around the Sun</i>, 2008’s <i>Accelerate</i>, and 2011’s <i>Collapse into Now</i>. I’ve previously published my reviews of the <i>Around the Sun</i> and <i>Collapse into Now</i> reissues, so now it’s time to get into <i>Reveal</i> and <i>Accelerate</i>. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Back in the 2000-2001 era of the band, R.E.M. was undoubtedly in a creatively transformative period that saw the still-settling trio fearlessly evolve their sound with more synthetic textures and even more sun-kissed, California cool melodies and background vocals than they had ever played with before. Reception was somewhat mixed on <i>Reveal</i>'s thoroughly inspired singles – “Imitation of Life,” “All The Way to Reno (You’re Gonna Be a Star),” and I’ll Take the Rain” – and, on paper at least, the LP seemed to fare a bit better internationally than it did in the states. Those looking for a more typical “R.E.M. rock” sound may have been initially disappointed in the joyously chill summer vibes of <i>Reveal</i>, but one need look no further than the band’s triumphant return to <i>MTV Unplugged</i> in May of 2001 to hear how harmoniously wonderful the <i>Reveal</i> tracks dance alongside the rest of their catalog: Their delicious one-two opener of “All the Way to Reno” into New Adventures in Hi-Fi’s “Electrolite” and “Imitation of Life” being sandwiched between ‘80s and ‘90s favorites like “Cuyahoga” and “Find the River” are two incredible examples of this from the <i>Unplugged</i> setlist. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">By the time the band started writing and recording what would become <i>Accelerate</i> in 2007, their impressively-honed instincts were drawing them to revisit some of the rowdier, less-polished corners of their sonic roots. With both the writing and recording stages proceeding at a much quicker clip than they had in decades, the resulting songs feel absolutely turbo-charged with energy and enthusiasm. Physical singles were released for the beautifully buzzy “Supernatural Superserious,” the slow-burn singalong “Hollow Man,” and the bass-forward ecstasy-inducing “Man-Sized Wreath.” The first two even included a pair of wildly tasty Beat Happening covers as b-sides: “Red Head Walking” on the former and “Indian Summer” on the latter. Much like the live <i>Unplugged</i> setting helped to showcase the new <i>Reveal</i> tracks back in 2001, their absolutely jaw-dropping episode of PBS’ <i>Austin City Limits</i> certainly highlighted how the new <i>Accelerate</i> songs not only played extremely well in a live setting but also blended effortlessly with so many songs from their quintessentially college rock back catalog: “Fall on Me,” “So. Central Rain,” and the 1986-outtake-turned-2003-greatest-hits-cut “Bad Day” just to name a few. (<i>Side note: Guys, we seriously appreciate the</i> Austin City Limits <i>DVD release but please silencing the deafening wails inside us that long for a vinyl pressing of this arrestingly great performance to enjoy as an album.</i>) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">As with this year’s previous reissues of <i>Around the Sun</i> and <i>Collapse into Now</i>, Craft’s 180-gram repressings of <i>Reveal</i> and <i>Accelerate</i> look – but most importantly sound – seriously amazing. All four of these reissues have been handled with such a level of care and quality that make them all worth picking up – a fact made even more evident to me by the lush sonic expanse found on this pressing of <i>Accelerate</i> (especially compared to the original CD version that my ears have been most used to hearing since its initial release). Both <i>Reveal</i> and <i>Accelerate</i> come in single-sleeve, side-open jackets with a lyrics-and-liners printed insert (paper for <i>Reveal</i> and glossier, thicker stock for <i>Accelerate</i>) and much-welcomed, plastic-lined inner sleeves. Both of my vinyl discs were extremely clean of any surface noise (or even any manufacturing dust) and honestly sound so good. Shout out to Memphis Records Pressing for a stellar job on all four reissues. Once again, Craft has done an amazing job partnering with R.E.M. for these reissues and I’m always so thrilled to not only upgrade my older album copies but to also have an elevated listening experience. I highly recommend grabbing a copy of these (especially <i>Accelerate</i>) while they are still available. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Along with the standard black version from Craft, the band also released a limited edition sky blue variant of <i>Reveal</i> and a black/white marble variant of <i>Accelerate</i> on their website. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here’s a helpful link to multiple purchase options for all four reissues: <a href="https://found.ee/rem-lpreissues " target="_blank">https://found.ee/rem-lpreissues </a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">(P.S. – Seriously, can we get that <i>Austin City Limits</i> episode as a full album release one day, gents?!?)
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</div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-60275233898604507442023-08-25T11:49:00.002-05:002023-08-25T12:00:41.928-05:00Basil Poledouris – Starship Troopers [Vinyl Debut]<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUbdVXERrIFz1idCAYiBgVaVUinsYEuINbwbn2AgELQ8zpf_qRDvA0XHtgA4Qdik8WqzuzuUa2PPGDhhZX2d2hu8B9o65aHxqyLo_C3QiqV6gSDvAUz2sHb4XFk1MLPc1plXigcDku4XruB79S51vHpYHhlDd94dvUIWs-lz6r04bhtH-D6GrcUAllruJ/s1280/image4-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUbdVXERrIFz1idCAYiBgVaVUinsYEuINbwbn2AgELQ8zpf_qRDvA0XHtgA4Qdik8WqzuzuUa2PPGDhhZX2d2hu8B9o65aHxqyLo_C3QiqV6gSDvAUz2sHb4XFk1MLPc1plXigcDku4XruB79S51vHpYHhlDd94dvUIWs-lz6r04bhtH-D6GrcUAllruJ/s320/image4-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">When <i>Starship Troopers</i> was released in the late fall of 1997, it quickly became one of the most critically polarizing films of the 1990s. The futuristic sci-fi action film (set in the 2200s but based on a 1959 book) was a super-stylized, CGI-heavy “us vs. aliens” visual spectacle that ended up generating most of its headlines for the “is it social commentary or satire” discourse that plagued its initial roll-out and reception. While it didn’t fare all that well at the ’97-’98 box office, it ended up becoming a bit of a cult classic that spawned a surprising amount of sequels and spin-offs. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the inarguable things <i>Starship Troopers</i> did get absolutely right was the music, as one can experience for themselves with the thrilling Basil Poledouris film score finally making its vinyl debut from Varése Sarabande and Craft Recordings. Prior to <i>Starship Troopers</i>, Poledouris was most well-known for his composition work on films like <i>Conan the Barbarian</i>, <i>Red Dawn</i>, <i>The Hunt for Red October</i>, <i>Free Willy</i>, and his Emmy-winning work on <i>Lonesome Dove</i>. For <i>Starship Troopers</i>, he once again worked with director Paul Verhoeven – a familiar creative partnership as the duo had previously worked together on <i>Flesh & Blood</i> and <i>RoboCop</i> (for which Poledouris won his first of three BMI Film Music Awards). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Much as he did with <i>RoboCop</i> (where he blended orchestral instrumentation with digital synths to evoke the cybernetic nature of Murphy/RoboCop), Poledouris found guiding inspiration within the film’s framework – most notably anchoring the villainous Arachnids around heavy drums and percussion, while also elevating the overall grand spectacle of the project with a hugely ambitious symphonic score recorded by the 97-member Hollywood Studio Symphony. Almost 30 separate musical cues appear on the soundtrack, including the unforgettable bombast of “Klendathu Drop,” the emotionally-charged back-to-back pairing of “Dizzy’s Death” and “Dizzy’s Funeral,” and the rousing 10-minutes-plus “End Titles.” Also appearing on this release is the song “Into It” by Poledouris’ daughter, Zoe Poledouris, who performed the song (along with a cover of David Bowie’s “I Have Not Been to Oxford Town”) in the film’s prom scene. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This new deluxe edition of Poledouris’ <i>Starship Troopers </i>score from Varese Sarabande has some really great bonuses that make it more than worth your purchase. Right off the bat, its notable to mention that this is the first time it has been pressed to vinyl (in both classic black and a limited edition “Blood & Bug Juice” red/orange marble). The gorgeous gatefold packaging features some really stellar original art from Malachi Ward and I love the distressed accents throughout making it feel like a pulpy, old sci-fi paperback. (Ward’s fantastic artwork is also presented in a standalone fold-out poster that’s included). The interior also features a couple new liner note essays from director Paul Verhoeven and Zoe Poledouris. I was really impressed not only with the sonic quality of the pressing and the striking physicality of the packaging, but also in the thoughtfulness put into all the details of the new original art, liner notes, and poster. Don't miss this stunning release!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><i style="caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444;">Starship Troopers</i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444;"> can be ordered directly from Varése Sarabande here: </span></span><a href="https://varesesarabande.com/products/starship-troopers-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-deluxe-edition-2lp-black-vinyl">https://varesesarabande.com/products/starship-troopers-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-deluxe-edition-2lp-black-vinyl</a></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKm7DgMfL6TBILw0Qu19qAb5wTrFrJ5XxIaYisdxqK7i_eIsKfUsiI3MB3UKWqs_eWMNerOLiDwpUI28z3WIHGks5TkJT16ve3slDAW-4uMUh0ShHc0jqP5EQOPScVc8pjJtEEN7QiYyS0lvIr0azXSkkxOT7rbGwK4K6uh7kRlEHcs9ikTtQ5dZS-tuF/s1280/image3-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKm7DgMfL6TBILw0Qu19qAb5wTrFrJ5XxIaYisdxqK7i_eIsKfUsiI3MB3UKWqs_eWMNerOLiDwpUI28z3WIHGks5TkJT16ve3slDAW-4uMUh0ShHc0jqP5EQOPScVc8pjJtEEN7QiYyS0lvIr0azXSkkxOT7rbGwK4K6uh7kRlEHcs9ikTtQ5dZS-tuF/s320/image3-2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYHXmSM6lVD7c2TPRpBr7Lq2fuUfDIQDacf0m47zA4aLyVI001jbt4E4JxROo1-zDXsYh3qEDkDFuMfKGpPoJzTBJAbgzpavJRYfwwpPdsLbHTtZxZRvZ2SmgFRx4YGF1-aFx8LRaIJ_ujcQgp6P8-1eb9O7pYEREgCtRmVkc52CmgrF_Vp2sBZV6WypB/s942/image2-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="942" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYHXmSM6lVD7c2TPRpBr7Lq2fuUfDIQDacf0m47zA4aLyVI001jbt4E4JxROo1-zDXsYh3qEDkDFuMfKGpPoJzTBJAbgzpavJRYfwwpPdsLbHTtZxZRvZ2SmgFRx4YGF1-aFx8LRaIJ_ujcQgp6P8-1eb9O7pYEREgCtRmVkc52CmgrF_Vp2sBZV6WypB/s320/image2-2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVW2BbLOtdA_esyNtM3gRrth_mhoUe61hJ-j_UCTfRD6eehy4zP8rBn89rurTTj426xXXl0PD07CqtIZsFDCGwx-Ki-7DWXq_0jJ_ZK6Oif9iMlrg6I0-Ee6PU7boHuMDoH66zxsKjiz6U-i0VRpAlqZ2713SP9r2vgHWqBO-i-3EM_upMyKSp8hUAYzF/s1280/image1-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVW2BbLOtdA_esyNtM3gRrth_mhoUe61hJ-j_UCTfRD6eehy4zP8rBn89rurTTj426xXXl0PD07CqtIZsFDCGwx-Ki-7DWXq_0jJ_ZK6Oif9iMlrg6I0-Ee6PU7boHuMDoH66zxsKjiz6U-i0VRpAlqZ2713SP9r2vgHWqBO-i-3EM_upMyKSp8hUAYzF/s320/image1-2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxpQpIToz7xHgAZCEUIPprp4vBA9P5RHbuXiaChMM8btrM60aw84Wx-T6noP3QOsPJq0VIFu0iSeZjq_6KT_3ujl9haaoFgRSK-jrzMWhFuqeEcUynb0ONDWiJSyAS21fCh8TqEYshNqvMy_3bNNjaUQPIQAhcTv5cwcIw-0HyhvqBQaMONK3etWb9tVK/s1280/image0-2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxpQpIToz7xHgAZCEUIPprp4vBA9P5RHbuXiaChMM8btrM60aw84Wx-T6noP3QOsPJq0VIFu0iSeZjq_6KT_3ujl9haaoFgRSK-jrzMWhFuqeEcUynb0ONDWiJSyAS21fCh8TqEYshNqvMy_3bNNjaUQPIQAhcTv5cwcIw-0HyhvqBQaMONK3etWb9tVK/s320/image0-2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-82131271533586955992023-07-21T07:39:00.005-05:002023-07-21T07:42:49.398-05:00John P. Strohm – “This American Lie” [Music Video]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJoTGJZsrYN5jmzmRmdNQ8qFqF5a8vJ23pOGaV_-REoEZsBJp0XLsaFljoPyGaadAgb-cuYsY_5dvp5KNHlOTfMJkGtD-EvqDTcJOyAmOxmX0DSMz5RBp6pjzr9qiER2o9pAh9q8f0yNyjzR7dtA89TgPHwJZLeBkM5COFFlwkkGZsqnVIwu-1KZY5_bY/s1400/Copy-of-PSR-015_Strohm_1400x1400.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJoTGJZsrYN5jmzmRmdNQ8qFqF5a8vJ23pOGaV_-REoEZsBJp0XLsaFljoPyGaadAgb-cuYsY_5dvp5KNHlOTfMJkGtD-EvqDTcJOyAmOxmX0DSMz5RBp6pjzr9qiER2o9pAh9q8f0yNyjzR7dtA89TgPHwJZLeBkM5COFFlwkkGZsqnVIwu-1KZY5_bY/s320/Copy-of-PSR-015_Strohm_1400x1400.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">You may remember John P. Strohm from college rock favorites Blake Babies, his time in The Lemonheads, or as frontman of Antenna and Velo-Deluxe. He also released a trio of solo albums across the mid-to-late ‘90s and 2000s. Strohm has recently prepped his fourth solo album (his first in 15 years) – <i>Something to Look Forward To</i> – for a September 29 release on Propeller Sound Recordings (home to artists like Dex Romweber, the dB’s, Love Tractor, and others). </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Something to Look Forward To</i> has been described as being “shaped by life-altering loss and the subsequent reawakening of Strohm’s voice as a songwriter.” It was most deeply inspired by the passing of his close friend and fellow Antenna bandmate Ed Ackerson, who contributed to a handful of the album’s tracks. (You can read Strohm's touching <i>Talkhouse</i> piece on his relationship with Ackerman here: <a href="https://www.talkhouse.com/something-to-look-forward-to/" target="_blank">https://www.talkhouse.com/something-to-look-forward-to/</a>). The album also features Strohm’s versatile musicianship across a variety of instruments – guitar, bass, drums, organ, keys, banjo – and boasts an impressive guest list: drummer Marshall Vore and bassist Harrison Whitford (both members of Phoebe Bridgers’ band) and singer-songwriters Erin Rae, Courtney Marie Andrews, and Kate Tucker as harmony vocalists. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ahead of the September 29 release of <i>Something to Look Forward To</i>, Strohm is debuting a new lyric video for “This American Lie,” the album’s second single. On the melodically melancholic ballad, Strohm’s vocals, acoustic, bass, and drums provide the lion’s share of the wistful musical mood. The track is further elevated by Ackerson’s ornamental keys, Alex Yaker’s underpinned piano, and Courtney Marie Andrews’ stellar background vocals. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div>
<span style="font-family: georgia;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gkCLNyr8vFo" title="John P. Strohm - This American Lie (Official Lyric Video)" width="640"></iframe>
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Something To Look Forward To</i> can be preordered on CD and limited edition vinyl from Propellor Sound Recordings here: <a href="https://propellersoundrecordings.com/collections/pre-order-john-p-strohm-something-to-look-forward-to" target="_blank">https://propellersoundrecordings.com/collections/pre-order-john-p-strohm-something-to-look-forward-to </a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: georgia; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1512" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimM04G6HH3jtGrt8GgS9wr5RkWtU2dqNMuxvRMvq4dbVmcsXY3ZlOr69iMnlYkMfnvBOSwHuCYmy-58R_AKyJcl1DNogGez6bjtJusWSbCF5rCLMdgbm9gaQkJFMPHB0BpaVhqp0u2rcfM9frDwylIx9B0fvqJZonNSFM4_84V0ODRaVbxBi45cbE4mpfz/s320/JPSLPcopy_1512x.png" width="320" /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div><br /></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-25992256631357220142023-07-20T09:47:00.004-05:002023-07-20T09:52:07.616-05:00R.E.M. – Around the Sun [Vinyl Reissue]<div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1280" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEI3OPpw16dnwPk6QKJjx0c9wYO24Q19RvHt46QGnMYYpBiwD5KHDXRiZm3w8YvamZSGYvxHurS3EN0YIJLOq9XnwzUy4SJ5QqoRw4vc92gVUeRkLvKQserJb77CF74hiSNgyxYk6rutZSQoZ7Vzap5eS18oPWU8tBKAYahVQHx70-Ce_ABwngzXsQMtA2/s320/IMG_7290.jpg" width="320" /></div></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Once again partnering with Craft Recordings, R.E.M. is reissuing a quartet of late-era reissues on high quality, 180-gram vinyl: 2011’s</i> Collapse into Now <i>and 2004’s</i> Around the Sun <i>(both out July 14), as well as 2001’s</i> Reveal <i>and 2008’s</i> Accelerate <i>(both out August 25).</i> </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">2004 was certainly an interesting year to be an R.E.M. fan. While news that the band was in the process of recording what would become their thirteenth studio album (<i>Around the Sun</i>) was swirling about, they graciously tided fans over by releasing one of the best concert films of their career, <i>Perfect Square</i>. Recorded the prior year at an outdoor summer show in Wiesbaden, Germany, <i>Perfect Square</i> is an incredible snapshot of the band’s impressive ability to retain global rockstar status in their post-Berry iteration. It certainly helped that the <i>Perfect Square</i> setlist was not only rich with older favorites (for example, opening with a fantastic ‘80s-‘90s one-two punch of “Begin the Begin” into “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”) and updated classics (“Country Feedback” getting a stunning Peter Buck guitar solo and Michael Stipe peppering it with lyrics from <i>Reveal</i>’s “Chorus and the Ring”), but the cinematography of the day-into-night, “on the green” setting was a visually remarkable cherry on top. At the time, it certainly helped to drum up additional excitement for their forthcoming album as well.
</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then, as <i>Around the Sun</i> was being prepped for a fall release, the mid-tempo piano ballad “Leaving New York” was released as an early single to a surprisingly lackluster response. In fact, here in the states at least, “Leaving New York” received minimal radio play and became their first lead single from an album to not chart on the <i>Billboard</i> Hot 100 singles chart since 1985’s <i>Fables of the Reconstruction</i>. (It should be noted, however, that the song still became a Top 5 hit in the UK). Subsequent <i>Around the Sun</i> singles – the equally piano-heavy “Aftermath,” the trippy synths of “Electron Blue,” and the Beatles-like mix-metered bounce of “Wanderlust” – all faired the same; mid-level charting in the UK and veritable crickets in the US. Overall, critics didn’t much seem to know what exactly to make of the album. In later years, even the band themselves have been pretty blunt in their own assessments, with Stipe recalling that “in the process of recording, we lost our focus as a band” and Buck admonishing that it “wasn’t really listenable” because it was made by “a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can’t stand it anymore.” </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">With all due respect to the band, <i>Around the Sun</i> has always been an “agree to disagree” situation with me because I think the album is packed with beautifully vulnerable songwriting moments and a charming, pro-level hand of restraint in the sonic coloring. As <i>Perfect Square</i> evidenced, the band still knew exactly how and when to crank into their singularly transcendent rock-modes and create idiosyncratic guitar-and-bass interplay riffing like few else. They had a celebrated two-decades-and-counting back catalog of it to pull inspiration from at any time. What they didn’t have yet was an album that managed to fully harness the confidence and ability to be intoxicatingly drifting and meditative without veering into aimlessness – which was exactly what many critics at the time failed to allow <i>Around the Sun</i> to be. As soon as <i>Accelerate</i> came out four years later, a general sigh of relief and chorus of “yes, they still got it” accompanied the well-deserved praise for that album’s genius (but that’s a story for another review). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">What this new 2023 vinyl repress of the long out-of-print <i>Around the Sun</i> might allow for is a collective reassessment of the album’s stunning vulnerability and self-assured meandering. While the original 2004 pressing of <i>Around the Sun</i> was already thankfully spread across two discs, the new 180-gram upgrade wonderfully grounds the sonic mix even further. Stipe’s vocals still feel securely nestled into the instrumental beds without getting muddied, and many of the piano and synth textures somehow feel a bit sharper. There was no remixing or remastering done for these reissues, but there’s definitely something about the vinyl quality that elevates the album’s overall sonic presence – especially in the background vocals of tracks like “Boy in the Well” and album closer “Around the Sun.” Once again, the impressive attention-to-detail work on the physical vinyl by Memphis Records and Kevin Gray of Coherent Audio can’t be overstated. The stalwart gatefold packaging feels nice and solid for the double-disc presentation, and the minimalist vibe of the cover art (subliminally echoing Stipe’s “lost our focus” assessment) carries through to the black-and-white, lyric-emblazoned printed sleeves. Overall, the stark-yet-sturdy production checks all the boxes; impressive</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">physicality without any gilded razzle-dazzle. Again, the most appreciated value to this welcomed and worthy reissue is the superb vinyl quality upgrade. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Along with the standard black version from Craft, the band also released a limited edition opaque white variant on their website. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Here’s a helpful link to multiple purchase options for all four reissues:</i> <a href="https://found.ee/rem-lpreissues">https://found.ee/rem-lpreissues</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vrj6_L4T2QA6h93cUjPaSclIsyDexja08LpRkA4erIe9jn6hcUlBtvX-ZdZrwbk8GwG9KUo6QyRGE77R4ZNKyaxPjcbocnyvHot_t9GWCxOeaU1SXq4Pn1RZ-ucw7_IOQbCPS1IG7xIjP7fp8B15bBex9pxRvUtD0oitKPpWfFUHp5ZbCO8IWUIceo0e/s1510/image0-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="1510" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vrj6_L4T2QA6h93cUjPaSclIsyDexja08LpRkA4erIe9jn6hcUlBtvX-ZdZrwbk8GwG9KUo6QyRGE77R4ZNKyaxPjcbocnyvHot_t9GWCxOeaU1SXq4Pn1RZ-ucw7_IOQbCPS1IG7xIjP7fp8B15bBex9pxRvUtD0oitKPpWfFUHp5ZbCO8IWUIceo0e/w400-h248/image0-1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoBDMx7tGobCwIzUtCLVkb5mfdGN6zitwu6NIi2K1h12V8DcdYhM6Ff2wgr4H4gIBqvGdBmd_XQ003ry1IojTpTMfFc8cwS2xL611eDsnXewBYjqSPiczGaln9KtchJzqPilCiESLqDugnFINiZDLJHXpKGHxBzToASdFZRe1Vz7D_Lks7_PAsm019Miw/s1412/image2-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1412" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoBDMx7tGobCwIzUtCLVkb5mfdGN6zitwu6NIi2K1h12V8DcdYhM6Ff2wgr4H4gIBqvGdBmd_XQ003ry1IojTpTMfFc8cwS2xL611eDsnXewBYjqSPiczGaln9KtchJzqPilCiESLqDugnFINiZDLJHXpKGHxBzToASdFZRe1Vz7D_Lks7_PAsm019Miw/s320/image2-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyOP-qSSp8cJfpL-BcstGt3yiLudCqcidxIrr7bRKWvuespx0v3mxJ1HjFEeVF0AyxoroeN18_DCJC7ahjYkVMXjG2xKT4jwuPLLM7bmfUQoJpcDdX0TjXQvp7kSlYmswju1f7NV2RI8RF8tpAT9zO5pcHbnkoPH5Vn_KqvRWPfIuQ6MrbrXnbB0ISu-f/s1499/image3-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1499" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyOP-qSSp8cJfpL-BcstGt3yiLudCqcidxIrr7bRKWvuespx0v3mxJ1HjFEeVF0AyxoroeN18_DCJC7ahjYkVMXjG2xKT4jwuPLLM7bmfUQoJpcDdX0TjXQvp7kSlYmswju1f7NV2RI8RF8tpAT9zO5pcHbnkoPH5Vn_KqvRWPfIuQ6MrbrXnbB0ISu-f/s320/image3-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_N5OuZ-6AsccdWxIiqNanBq6ITRzgXtjk8TPc9SgI39ozYFpXDmMBcV-ByURX_f85RIhbsAJINVKD4TcGdmtqaLOg6myzPay5TF1bt6NCg28n3P4EJLzk3Pl8RytOYL-3zgOWXLXdt0L0zTiMecXKNrL2ZY9yjmQIbTKwEaAlghawi9YrY1PD1B2UI9UZ/s1062/image1-1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1062" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_N5OuZ-6AsccdWxIiqNanBq6ITRzgXtjk8TPc9SgI39ozYFpXDmMBcV-ByURX_f85RIhbsAJINVKD4TcGdmtqaLOg6myzPay5TF1bt6NCg28n3P4EJLzk3Pl8RytOYL-3zgOWXLXdt0L0zTiMecXKNrL2ZY9yjmQIbTKwEaAlghawi9YrY1PD1B2UI9UZ/s320/image1-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-58035101256166702522023-07-14T07:12:00.001-05:002023-07-14T07:14:25.319-05:00R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now [Vinyl Reissue]<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPxic_TkIXAIHIgRd1s8g6D4Bb3wYZoRNLpy1YYq8Mvxdm41uP20X0Vd4V9MquOp9D2WdTv3-4ZYZYCDFF1SMLTLA16sCr9rdHGcBWgBdEJbC7Am7osUTX_g2Zu6zZRvRpsowc7CHqAk005766WxBdn3rbtjGJWEp-AG0oCh6vg_wAeDFE1A9qKdXfu_-/s1280/image3.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPxic_TkIXAIHIgRd1s8g6D4Bb3wYZoRNLpy1YYq8Mvxdm41uP20X0Vd4V9MquOp9D2WdTv3-4ZYZYCDFF1SMLTLA16sCr9rdHGcBWgBdEJbC7Am7osUTX_g2Zu6zZRvRpsowc7CHqAk005766WxBdn3rbtjGJWEp-AG0oCh6vg_wAeDFE1A9qKdXfu_-/w200-h200/image3.jpeg" width="200" /></span></a></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It goes without saying that 2011 was a deeply bittersweet year for R.E.M. fans. The highs of getting a brand new album (<i>Collapse Into Now</i>, their fifteenth studio album overall) bottomed out just six months later when the legendary outfit finally called it a day. But where Michael Stipe’s charming wave on the <i>Collapse Into Now</i> cover turned out to be a fittingly farewell gesture back in 2011, it has now transformed into a bit of a reconnective greeting as it adorns the 2023 vinyl repress of the long out-of-print album. This year the band has once again partnered with Craft Recordings for a run of high quality, 180-gram vinyl represses of a quartet of their post-Berry-era releases, including <i>Collapse Into Now</i> and 2004’s <i>Around the Sun</i> (both out July 14), as well as 2001’s <i>Reveal</i> and 2008’s <i>Accelerate</i> (both out August 25).<br /><br />As far as final albums go, <i>Collapse Into Now</i> proved to be an incredibly strong closing statement from the band. The energetic back-to-back album kickoff of “Discoverer” and “All the Best” contain all of the best elements of the band’s singular magic – Stipe’s peerless vocal swagger, Peter Buck’s enchantingly buzzy guitar riffs, Mike Mills’ foundation-rattling bass and duet-like background vocals, and invitationally singalong choruses – seamlessly woven together in familiar-yet-still-fresh arrangements. The three commercially-released singles from the album – “Mine Smell Like Honey,” “Überlin,” and “Oh My Heart” – all have their own apropos sonic signatures, with the latter’s enduring timelessness being evidenced by its prominent placement last year in an episode of one of the most popular television show’s of the moment, Hulu’s <i>The Bear</i>. <i>Collapse Into Now</i> is also notable for boasting one of R.E.M.’s most robust guest lists – featuring incredible musical contributions from Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder, Lenny Kaye, Peaches, Joel Gibb, and others (including a robust horn section on a couple songs).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />The first thing about the 2023 repress of <i>Collapse Into Now</i> that sets it above its original 2011 pressing is the quality of the 180-gram vinyl. You can not only feel the heavier weight when pulling it out of the sleeve, but also the sonic presence of the tracks feel more crisp and cohesive. The meticulous attention given to the vinyl album itself – cut by Kevin Gray of Coherent Audio and pressed at Memphis Records – comes through in both its physical feel and aural brilliance. The packaging is unembellished but certainly reliable enough; featuring a standard side-open jacket, white poly-lined inner sleeve, and single-page monochrome lyrical/liner printed insert. As far as standard reissues go, the impressive leveling up of the actual vinyl (both in physical durability and sonic quality) is worth the price of admission alone. Along with the standard black version from Craft, the band also released a “Milky Clear” variant on their website (limited to 1,000 copies). <br /> <br /><span><i>Here’s a helpful link to multiple purchase options for all four reissues</i>: <a href="https://found.ee/rem-lpreissues" style="color: #0563c1;">https://found.ee/rem-lpreissues</a></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCTVUz44KkiYAfOzAjHDlKUyDREh3tsRAvIUh_UQ_qwnlIKcG-_0kuezGJ4ENN14nx9N-ysz78x_isuQcTzuqNo-vH4mCwsiDi6QWmj8jMOdV55D8WoR-Rt3RhJBJV8BwomQcV6FA6kwQ_r7SuNyrxwHyAtRmngNIQEc8D74mOxeie7PG66U1AL3BOmXy/s1497/image0.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="1497" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCTVUz44KkiYAfOzAjHDlKUyDREh3tsRAvIUh_UQ_qwnlIKcG-_0kuezGJ4ENN14nx9N-ysz78x_isuQcTzuqNo-vH4mCwsiDi6QWmj8jMOdV55D8WoR-Rt3RhJBJV8BwomQcV6FA6kwQ_r7SuNyrxwHyAtRmngNIQEc8D74mOxeie7PG66U1AL3BOmXy/w400-h243/image0.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGO1ePaTyb6MXf68iYsC0j4sE4oq2zkLHHxeN4TqmZ2YjOwkaqrzjR-lGVccdpm6Nf47z22xTW0GbhYrKug_j-lFrshHt2L2e8BvZy76uOVZKLU8Hu1sUkVm_exbkHKk6aZQhecNeVrexQrUpnNiAA9ufAVItCbhanqbRNpMEHbykb8ny6E3rGwjrMamy/s1280/image1.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGO1ePaTyb6MXf68iYsC0j4sE4oq2zkLHHxeN4TqmZ2YjOwkaqrzjR-lGVccdpm6Nf47z22xTW0GbhYrKug_j-lFrshHt2L2e8BvZy76uOVZKLU8Hu1sUkVm_exbkHKk6aZQhecNeVrexQrUpnNiAA9ufAVItCbhanqbRNpMEHbykb8ny6E3rGwjrMamy/s320/image1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwk0UDyHA1W0J_ddafLMYeVxcvS0w87rJJb3MdC-fmQFWmgfuAcEdH2mJnG3JAxqMKH1gCCxL8ckEP3rPVp15C-lxLAhTWXwDxpGqqb_V9MsnqM4Kr79YFNitD9EKJCsMXjcMWpSpa5FLUEGvOj4fmY3e976Z2asYrJ1iQt887-rr-CK3KisZIagztUAiM/s1280/image2.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwk0UDyHA1W0J_ddafLMYeVxcvS0w87rJJb3MdC-fmQFWmgfuAcEdH2mJnG3JAxqMKH1gCCxL8ckEP3rPVp15C-lxLAhTWXwDxpGqqb_V9MsnqM4Kr79YFNitD9EKJCsMXjcMWpSpa5FLUEGvOj4fmY3e976Z2asYrJ1iQt887-rr-CK3KisZIagztUAiM/s320/image2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-77984654946385393532023-05-18T14:42:00.004-05:002023-07-11T14:48:24.821-05:00JOURNAL EXCERPT: The Many Phases of The Milk Carton Kids’ New Album (No Depression)<span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>I originally wrote this for the</i> No Depression <i>Spring 2023 print journal</i>. <i>Click below for the full article</i>.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63WAQR0FIMsarkJm3GLKE3uu7dgm5KN3Nv3uP4bTp4iMxipdrwZ90OWd6UY2lHpO62lXP1NIps219MfnEXDR3g3rxvZvB_-L7VayqGUOoCNXWcoKlu6PzDAHqj9ywZr-w_nGHdbGgXcUmrN8LX8K8jg-M_S_PiOUlUFb5v3cM52lFhW1-tXVntic8bQ0b/s1206/milk-carton-kids_NDspring23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1206" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63WAQR0FIMsarkJm3GLKE3uu7dgm5KN3Nv3uP4bTp4iMxipdrwZ90OWd6UY2lHpO62lXP1NIps219MfnEXDR3g3rxvZvB_-L7VayqGUOoCNXWcoKlu6PzDAHqj9ywZr-w_nGHdbGgXcUmrN8LX8K8jg-M_S_PiOUlUFb5v3cM52lFhW1-tXVntic8bQ0b/w400-h260/milk-carton-kids_NDspring23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>EDITOR’S NOTE</b>: <i>To mark the release of Milk Carton Kids’ new album</i>, I Only See the Moon, <i>this week, we’re sharing an excerpt of our story about the album and the band from our <a href="https://store.nodepression.com/collections/single-issues/products/spring-2023" target="_blank">Spring 2023 journal</a>, available now. Order your copy or, better yet, <a href="https://store.nodepression.com/collections/subscribe" target="_blank">subscribe today</a> — and support nonprofit roots music journalism in print and online for a full year!</i> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">“We’ve got all of the time in the world to kill,” croon acoustic indie-folk duo The Milk Carton Kids on the deceptively soothing opening song of their seventh record, I Only See the Moon (out May 19 on Thirty Tigers). While the ethereal harmonizing between Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan might belie some of the song’s more melancholic lines — “time’s a thief” or “blink, now we’re gone” — the overall sentiment of the track feels like a celebration of the moments when the things that are most important in life fall into crystalline focus... <i><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/journal-excerpt-the-many-phases-of-the-milk-carton-kids-new-album/" target="_blank">Click here for the rest of this article</a></i>.
</span></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-6858456914816839632023-03-16T12:06:00.009-05:002023-07-11T14:31:03.997-05:00Aoife O’Donovan Finds Fertile Ground in ‘Nebraska’ (No Depression)<span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>I originally wrote this for </i>No Depression. <i>Click below for the full article</i>.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/aoife-odonovan-finds-fertile-ground-in-nebraska/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1AEMYvWVGDNbsG9UoZ9dIpTZIo4b5A_qyI-8McX51yzEoGBVG2b7Y_Sp0Js2-M3_511gHT23-9_PrU99YUJUHOzxVMqDaky4iatcFSMxKuxpGaI85fFKoyuayncSV1pP99Ciw7j6AKQLVW3hWkddW2Bucj7CkgiqqWqk7fK-0ZAiK1XHjdcbhR-hjf-K/s320/aoifenebraskacover.jpeg" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I first heard </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Nebraska</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> as a young child in the early 1990s when I was just old enough to start having my own opinions about music,” Aoife O’Donovan reminisces. “I remember that my first response was being freaked out because it was like nothing I had ever heard before.” </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />In the ensuing decades, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has formed an ever-evolving relationship with Bruce Springsteen’s enigmatic demos-turned-album from 1982, frequently returning to its haunting, character-driven songscapes as both a listener and a performer. Her most recent encounter with it — a May 2020 pandemic-era livestream in which she performed the record in its entirety — continues to yield creative dividends, including an upcoming vinyl release (<i>Aoife O’Donovan Plays Nebraska</i>, out March 24 on Yep Roc Records) and accompanying US tour that starts this week and runs through April 16... <i><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/aoife-odonovan-finds-fertile-ground-in-nebraska/" target="_blank">Click here for the rest of this article</a></i>.</span></div></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-90069217756688760582022-11-24T14:32:00.001-06:002023-07-11T14:39:33.408-05:00JOURNAL EXCERPT: Roots Musicians Aim to Bring More Thanksgiving Songs to the Table (No Depression)<span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>I originally wrote this for the</i> No Depression <i>Fall 2022 print journal</i>. <i>Click below for the full article</i>.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEAoTk1-oq77bIWGsw1MtHZTWlI7pT5eK3VvgF6y8XhAhNG_zuUZ7FAaAy0mV2A_PNEujXaZGTdDfs2LYJukXPu5A7eEiYWDxRE8GL1E8y4jK-q7mpTTwxguk7PvnHmYabNnmtnR0dauO5BxhELQnngvYG-_rbLBbjFOvUewieASkWCNY5Gn-YqrzdsVS/s1206/thanksgiving_ND-Fall-2022-interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1206" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEAoTk1-oq77bIWGsw1MtHZTWlI7pT5eK3VvgF6y8XhAhNG_zuUZ7FAaAy0mV2A_PNEujXaZGTdDfs2LYJukXPu5A7eEiYWDxRE8GL1E8y4jK-q7mpTTwxguk7PvnHmYabNnmtnR0dauO5BxhELQnngvYG-_rbLBbjFOvUewieASkWCNY5Gn-YqrzdsVS/w400-h260/thanksgiving_ND-Fall-2022-interior.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>EDITOR’S NOTE</b>: <i>As readers in the US celebrate Thanksgiving this week, we’re sharing this story about the holiday and roots musicians’ complicated relationship with songs about it. To read the full piece, buy the <a href="https://store.nodepression.com/collections/single-issues/products/fall-2022" target="_blank">Fall 2022</a> issue of No Depression or, better yet, subscribe and support nonprofit music journalism in print and online for a full year!</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>As late summer’s sunsets start signaling the parade of fall and winter holidays in the United States, there’s certainly no scarcity of festivities for those who choose to celebrate. For many, Halloween has grown into a monthlong bacchanal full of bottomless candy dishes, horror movie marathons, and pop-up retail stores helping to outfit a plethora of costume changes. Christmas has inspired so much merry-making ephemera that there are entire film franchises to binge and genre-specific radio stations to play around-the-clock holiday music from late November to early January... </span><i><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/journal-excerpt-roots-musicians-aim-to-bring-more-thanksgiving-songs-to-the-table/" target="_blank">Click here for the rest of this article</a></i>.</span></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-72283924934749849832022-11-22T14:22:00.005-06:002023-07-11T14:30:25.467-05:00‘Okay, Edge, Play the Blues!’: An Oral History of the Night U2 Jammed With Stevie Ray Vaughan at Antone’s (No Depression)<span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>I originally wrote this for </i>No Depression. <i>Click below for the full article</i>.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: georgia; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="987" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesGvCi5Al_gIsoZOKiRP3vJb6n3dgx0FDWJXnxweQOBC9v78bJUbu6AQYbIBlxDS5FQSrVhO3x2aGM9E2B_DenTMp_byGZSJe_KindivsiKW3GSk6RkLoJRECWOG4UFtfWJS2nQnMng3Szp6M98NON4v7GKlXoqokAdHxJBp982YFXSz-SSgMVNNvp9sa/w320-h311/U2-@-Antones.jpeg" width="320" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thirty-five years ago this month, the biggest band in the world dropped into the home of the blues and ended up playing in one of the most star-studded impromptu jams of all time. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">On Nov. 22, 1987, U2 was in the middle of the third leg of their global, star-turning Joshua Tree tour and followed their Sunday night sold-out show at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, with a night out at the legendary blues mecca Antone’s. Before the night was over, the intimate crowd was treated to a surprise performance that included U2’s Bono and Edge, blues legends Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan, producer savant T Bone Burnett, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Chris Layton, and others... <i><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/okay-edge-play-the-blues-an-oral-history-of-the-night-u2-jammed-with-stevie-ray-vaughan-at-antones/" target="_blank">Click here for the rest of this article</a></i>.</span></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-42687202143698331492022-04-21T14:49:00.001-05:002023-07-11T15:00:12.273-05:00JOURNAL EXCERPT: Inside the Making of Wilco’s ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ (No Depression)<span style="font-family: georgia;">I<i> originally wrote this for the</i> No Depression <i>Fall 2018 print journal and ND reposted it for</i> Yankee Hotel Foxtrot's 20th anniversary. <i>Click below for the full article.</i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/journal-excerpt-inside-the-making-of-wilcos-yankee-hotel-foxtrot/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="2048" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5z6IeXeCYwvLJM8UAv7NcHt9JWrqqlyD-Ay3Us8CNP4O2bS_osALFVwSwHJHLtvT7dW7eL_No3vFIM5AQ86OdPNx93PvEnB3Ex4DytooPl1mAk-1uilk-JttzMyfxMSYcttrsXpDU8ikiO-Gfkv2SnwrBKmHmQX2q2EFg6Lr6NbJ-8LcqaVzujmK_3NMI/w400-h255/YHF-excerpt-header.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>EDITOR’S NOTE</b>: <i>As Wilco’s milestone album </i>Yankee Hotel Foxtrot <i>celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, we wanted to share this excerpt from a story in our Fall-Winter 2018 journal, “Innovate.” You can read the whole story and check out exclusive images — and so much more — in that issue, <a href="https://store.nodepression.com/collections/single-issues/products/innovate-fall-winter-2018" target="_blank">here</a>. REALLY like Wilco? Our <a href="https://store.nodepression.com/collections/bundle/products/wilco-bundle" target="_blank">Wilco bundle</a> — the Fall-Winter 2018 journal plus Spring 2020 “Live and In Person,” which includes an interview with Jeff Tweedy about the band’s Solid Sound Festival — is for you. And please consider supporting</i> No Depression <i>with a <a href="https://store.nodepression.com/collections/subscribe" target="_blank">subscription</a> for more roots music journalism, in print and online, all year long</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Not many albums come prepackaged with their own multilayered mythos, but that’s just one way among many that Wilco’s iconic fourth album, <i>Yankee Hotel Foxtrot</i>, broke free of rules and expectations. The album celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and its origin stories have become roots music folklore by now. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">But even before the album was officially released in stores on April 23, 2002, its complicated origin story had played out for months via interviews, magazine articles, blog posts, and any other medium covering music news. The loss and replacement of band members, record label disputes, intra-band creative turmoil, “now or never” pressures, early online self-distributed streaming innovations, unintentional connections to the 9/11 tragedy the year before, and the unique situation of being dropped by a label and then essentially being re-signed by the same label through a subsidiary are just a few of the unorthodox narrative threads tied to this significant album. To add another interesting layer to the legend, by an incredible stroke of serendipity the vast majority of these storylines were captured as they transpired and packaged into an intimately shot behind-the-scenes documentary by Sam Jones called <i>I Am Trying To Break Your Heart</i>... <i><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/journal-excerpt-inside-the-making-of-wilcos-yankee-hotel-foxtrot/" target="_blank">Click here for the rest of this article</a></i>.</span></div></div>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-60825294499609392522019-09-30T07:08:00.000-05:002019-11-06T19:20:53.258-06:00Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends [Vinyl Reissue] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">All this year, Long Island’s own Taking Back Sunday have been marking 20 years as a band with the release of their <i>Twenty </i>compilation album and a widely celebrated world tour. To add to the festivities, Craft Recordings is releasing a remastered vinyl reissue of their stellar debut album, 2002’s <i>Tell All Your Friends</i>,<i> </i>this Friday, October 4. Long considered a standout in the emo revival of the early 2000s, <i>Tell All Your Friends </i>is a stunning collection of songs that distilled many of the genre’s most exciting elements down into a concise, 34-minute explosion that mixes incendiary guitarwork, thunderous drumming, call-and-response co-lead vocals, and heart-on-sleeve lyrics into a furious lather that never lets up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>Tell All Your Friends </i>would eventually be certified Gold and its legacy within the band’s catalog prompted a 10th anniversary tour in 2012 and a live acoustic album/DVD (<i>TAYF10 Acoustic</i>) in 2013. Even though the band has flirted with a few different genres over its two-decades (and counting) career, its first step onto the scene with <i>Tell All Your Friends </i>was a defining moment that the band seems really proud and really willing to revisit as it continues to move forward. This beautiful <i>Tell All Your Friends </i>reissue from Craft Recordings truly celebrates the album’s important legacy and reminds listeners of what makes the ever-evolving band so special to the emo and alt-rock scenes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Alongside the standard black vinyl version, the band is also offering a special run (limited to 1000 copies) variant pressed on iridescent color-morphing green vinyl on their website.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Black vinyl from Craft (pre-order) <a href="https://store.craftrecordings.com/products/taking-back-sunday-tell-all-your-friends-remastered-lp?_pos=1&_sid=34fa03c37&_ss=r" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Green vinyl from the band (pre-order) </span><a href="https://takingbacksundaystore.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span><br />
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</span>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-80559392443637708122019-08-23T07:37:00.000-05:002019-11-06T19:20:11.077-06:00Vince Guaraldi – It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After the prior year’s astounding success of <i>A Charlie Brown Christmas</i>, 1966 found <i>Peanuts </i>creator Charles Schulz and director/animator Bill Melendez dipping into the animated holiday special well again for <i>It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown</i>. Striking gold again, the duo’s beloved creation was met with immediate approval and it quickly becoming an annual television tradition during the Halloween season. While the half-hour special has contributed a variety of memorable lines and scenes to the pop culture vernacular – the mythology of The Great Pumpkin, “I got a rock,” the bonkers World War I flying ace foolishness – it’s once again Vince Guaraldi’s impossibly perfect jazz score that may be the special’s most enduring legacy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After releasing the complete soundtrack album on CD last year, Craft Recordings is offering Guaraldi’s score on vinyl for the very first time (in its over-50-year-history) for Halloween this year. The vinyl debut is available for pre-order now and will officially be released on August 30. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Where Guaraldi’s iconic instrumental work for the Christmas special featured his signature piano accompanied by Jerry Granelli on drums and Fred Marshall on stand-up bass, he wrote the score for It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown to unfold across a larger ensemble. Credited as The Vince Guaraldi Sextet, this time around Guaraldi’s piano work was supported by Colin Bailey on drums, Monty Budwig on bass, John Gray on Guitar, Emmanuel Klein on trumpet, and Ronald Lang on various woodwinds. The results are a more robust, yet equally pitch-perfect, musical backdrop that strikes the whimsically sophisticated tone associated with all of Guaraldi’s <i>Peanuts</i>pieces. While Guaraldi’s instantly recognizable “Linus and Lucy” returns from the Christmas special, it’s his “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” that serves as the celebratory centerpiece of this autumnal collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-normal;">This vinyl debut of </span><i>It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown </i><span style="font-size: xx-normal;">from Craft Recordings is a true treat that features some special aesthetic goodies alongside the 17 musical tracks. First, because the selections are so short, the entirety of the score has been pressed to Side A, making room for an incredible etching of the show’s pumpkin logo to encompass Side B. Additionally, the inner-sleeve features a wonderful full-color still of the gang’s Halloween party scene on one side and some fantastic liner notes from executive producer Lee Mendelson and Derrick Bang (author of </span><i>Vince Guaraldi at the Piano</i>) on the other. In conjunction with the standard pressing on black vinyl, Craft Recordings has also pressed a limited edition run of 500 copies on glow-in-the-dark vinyl that can be ordered from their online store <a href="https://store.craftrecordings.com/products/vince-guaraldi-trio-its-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown-glow-in-the-dark-lp?_pos=2&_sid=d852da67a&_ss=r" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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</span>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-38068408868837489512019-08-07T19:22:00.002-05:002019-08-07T19:29:41.647-05:00Elmer Bernstein – Ghostbusters [35th Anniversary Reissue] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlkh9AhVn1WuGc-k4aq5SUC5QSmNpyWsFwte5LNz6RQXHuQZo0BBqoKDZyjVdx9QAk1pvxuRIIFdskKZ87PJs4YrNmxGiAenwn0kagyjRqEDlKdhFkBt2kY_JFC29NM-o6ZTAADbXbhw5/s1600/ghostbusters-1984-original-score.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlkh9AhVn1WuGc-k4aq5SUC5QSmNpyWsFwte5LNz6RQXHuQZo0BBqoKDZyjVdx9QAk1pvxuRIIFdskKZ87PJs4YrNmxGiAenwn0kagyjRqEDlKdhFkBt2kY_JFC29NM-o6ZTAADbXbhw5/s320/ghostbusters-1984-original-score.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">With this year marking the 35th anniversary of <i>Ghostbusters</i>, it’s been really nice to see the film’s incredibly robust film score be included in all of the celebrations. Crafted by legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein (<i>The Magnificent Seven</i>, <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>, <i>Animal House</i>, <i>Cape Fear</i>) in the fourth decade of his mind-blowingly impressive career that spanned from <i>Saturday’s Hero</i> in 1951 to <i>Far From Heaven</i> in 2002, his work for <i>Ghostbusters</i> marks a creatively ambitious period in the iconic composer’s stellar catalog. While this 35th anniversary release came out on CD and made its digital debut earlier this year, the impressively crafted vinyl release from Sony is now available and features the film’s score (remastered from the original multi-track sources) stretched across two discs, as well as four additional previously unreleased tracks and a wonderful liner note essay from Bernstein’s son, Peter (who also worked on the film’s score).</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bernstein’s legendary composition work includes over 150 film scores, all of wildly varying degrees of musical sophistication and fearlessness. While he was musically fluent in classical compositions, Broadway musicals, grand westerns, suspense-inducing dramatics, orchestral suites, and more, it was the late-‘70s/early-‘80s period of his career that highlighted some of his most adventurous compositions paired to some of the most notable comedic films of the period. This surprising and prolific section of Bernstein’s career started with his composing the score to the 1978 film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">National Lampoon’s Animal House</i>, an opportunity that came about due to Peter Bernstein’s childhood friendship with the film’s director, John Landis. The success of Bernstein’s brilliant musical accompaniment matched with oddball comedic cinema carried into his scoring a variety of other comedies in quick succession, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meatballs</i> (1979), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Airplane!</i> (1980), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Blues Brothers</i> (1980), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stripes</i> (1981), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Airplane II: The Sequel</i> (1982), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trading Places</i> (1983), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spies Like Us</i> (1985), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Three Amigos!</i> (1986), and many others.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bernstein’s work on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghostbusters</i> took place during this time period as well and for the film he mixed some of his more classical and traditional leanings with more modern, tech-savvy flairs of inspiration. Most notably, Bernstein employed the theremin-like sounds of an Ondes Martenot keyboard for the instantly recognizable ghostly atmospherics, as well as three Yamaha DX7 synthesizers for the slick, electro-melodic flourishes. Bernstein’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ghostbusters</i> score was performed by the 72-person Hollywood Studio Symphony orchestra and was orchestrated by his son, Peter, and David Spear. All of the musical credits outlining the performers and instruments are included in this vinyl releases beautiful full-color booklet that also houses Peter’s essay and a striking collection of film photos. The entire double-disc collection is housed in a sturdy gatefold packaging with an embossed cover and the vinyl is pressed on clear wax with a fantastic neon green slime blob. I love that the pressing process creates such unique designs for each blob, as one of my discs features centralized rings of ghostly ooze and the other is more of a smear that takes on a total Slimer-like shape. Major kudos to Sony for this gorgeous, attention-to-detail release and shout out to Memphis Record Pressing for the quality pressing and playful aesthetics.</span></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The 35th Anniversary vinyl release of the original motion picture score for <i>Ghostbusters</i> can be purchased here: <a href="https://soundtracks.lnk.to/GhostbustersScore" target="_blank">https://soundtracks.lnk.to/GhostbustersScore</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As someone who heavily traffics in milestone releases and reissues, I was incredibly surprised by the creative care and level of attention paid to the 2LP/2CD Super Deluxe edition celebrating Live’s 1994 multi-platinum album <i>Throwing Copper</i>. While the album itself certainly achieved enough success to warrant a reissue (8x Platinum, four Top 10 singles, #1 on the <i>Billboard</i> 200), the York, PA quartet went the extra mile by a including a stunning 12-page booklet, three bonus tracks, and a recording of their previously unreleased nine-song set from Woodstock ’94 – all housed in a weighty, thick-spine gatefold packaging that truly highlights the memorable <i>Sisters of Mercy</i> cover art from Scottish painter Peter Howson. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There’s no denying that <i>Throwing Copper</i> was one of the most celebrated albums of the 1990s. In early 1994, lead single “Selling the Drama” came out a few months ahead of the album and it immediately became an alt-rock radio staple, eventually hitting #1 on <i>Billboard</i>‘s Modern Rock chart. Its moody music video (featuring a “not for very long” long-haired Ed Kowalczyk) established the band’s oft-returning presence on MTV for the next couple of years. For all of 1994 and into 1995, the formula was successfully repeated every couple of months with a new single that unrolled the diverse layers of Live’s cinematic songwriting. The big pop chorus of “I Alone,” the emotive balladeering of “Lightning Crashes,” and the explosive punch of “All Over You” all became Top 10 singles, with each one spawning its own quasi-spiritual music video. The jammy, bass-led “White, Discussion” was put out as a fifth single almost a year after the album was first released, but it stalled around #15 on the charts and didn’t turn get a video of its own. Live was so ubiquitous on alt-rock radio in 1994 that DJs would sometimes tire of the hit singles and play some of the other album tracks like “Iris” and T.B.D.” as well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While <i>Throwing Copper</i> is notable for being one of the earliest standouts of the post-grunge era, the band was able to solidify their successes through some memorable live performances – especially their fantastic on <i>Saturday Night Live</i>, their mesmerizing <i>MTV Unplugged</i> episode (sidenote: how does this not have a standalone release?!?), and their blistering set at Woodstock ’94. The latter performance has never been officially released by the band until now, as it encompasses the entirety of the second CD of this reissue. Their bombastic Woodstock ’94 set includes seven songs from <i>Throwing Copper</i> and two tracks – “The Beauty of Gray” and “Operation Spirit” – from their debut album <i>Mental Jewelry</i>. It really showcases Live’s talents as a live band, especially with Kowalczyk’s whisper-to-a-shriek vocals and their true secret weapon, the slick complexity of Patrick Dahlheimer’s bass lines. While I would’ve loved to see their <i>MTV Unplugged</i> tracks (or maybe even a DVD of the performance) included in this reissue, their Woodstock ’94 performance is an incredibly welcomed addition to the proper album. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The original vinyl release of Throwing Copper cut out the songs “Pillar of Davidson” and secret track “Horse” so that it could be pressed on a single disc, so it’s really nice to see the album presented across two discs for this reissue. “Pillar of Davidson” and “Horse” have been restored back into the tracklist and three additional bonus tracks were added to Side D: “Hold Me Up,” “We Deal in Dreams,” and “Susquehanna.” The 12-page vinyl-sized booklet contains an enlightening interview with the band framed around a timeline of everything that happened with the band through 1994-1995. While it's really cool to finally have such a solid, two-disc vinyl pressing of the album, it's the impressive extras - the bonus tracks, the Woodstock '94 set, the 12-page booklet, and the gorgeously weighty packaging - that really make this one of the more standout anniversary vinyl reissues that has come out in the last few years. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Super Deluxe 25th anniversary reissue of <i>Throwing Copper</i> (as well as the single CD and deluxe digital album versions) can be purchased here: <a href="https://ume.lnk.to/ThrowingCopper25" style="color: blue;">https://ume.lnk.to/ThrowingCopper25</a> </span></span></div>
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Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-33529347623022496722019-07-12T10:52:00.000-05:002019-08-11T16:35:28.212-05:00U2 – The Unforgettable Fire and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">U2 continues its masterful vinyl reissue campaign that it started last year with another selection of mixed chronology releases. This time around they’ve paired 1984’s <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> and 2004’s <i>How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb</i> together and pressed them both on sharply colored wax that evokes each album’s cover art. <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> has been pressed on 180-gram “wine” (a rich, not too deep purple) and <i>How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb</i> has been pressed on 180-gram red (an explosively bright variant shade). These two new entries in the vinyl reissue catalog are welcomed additions to the impressive rollout that has already featured <i>Wide Awake in America</i>, <i>Achtung Baby</i>, <i>Zooropa</i>, <i>Pop</i>, <i>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</i>, and both “Best of” compilations. </span><br />
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</span> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7qACQ0NTwis" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While I may certainly be reading too much into the potential reasoning behind their choices for release parings, I really like this duo because both albums echo points in the band’s career where they wonderfully subverted the expectations of needing to follow their preceding albums. For example, the experimentally ambient <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> was released about a year and a half after the far more bombastic rock of <i>War</i>. Likewise, <i>How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb</i> really cranked the guitars and energy up a couple notches from what they merely hinted at with <i>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</i>. Both albums also contain some of U2’s most beloved hits and deep album fan favorites, including “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “Bad,” “A Sort of Homecoming,” “Vertigo,” and “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” Additionally, both albums have been certified 3x platinum in the U.S. alone, with <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> notching over 8 million in worldwide sales and <i>How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb</i> hitting 10 million worldwide.</span><br />
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</span> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/98W9QuMq-2k" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For these reissues, the attentive touches go well beyond the cool aesthetics of the color wax choices. Both reissues are housed in standard single sleeve packaging with fantastic color work on the front and back covers. Inside, both releases feature two sleeve options: a black poly-lined paper sleeve and a thicker full color option. They both also contain a beautiful, full color 16-page booklet with lyrics, liner notes, and more. I must say, as a vinyl collector and a massive U2 fan, both of these releases not only check a variety of boxes on the high-quality reissue want list, but they also continue the trend of U2’s pitch-perfect campaign of reissuing their back catalog on heavyweight vinyl with sturdy packaging, brilliant artwork, and nice little extra touches that help make these reissues really standout from their decades-old vinyl pressings. Whether you’re upgrading your original versions or grabbing the albums for the first time, I highly recommend picking up <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> and <i>How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb</i> reissues (as well as their reissues from the last year and a half or so) for the superb audio quality and the beautifully well-done visuals. </span><br />
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Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-46103057130823576202019-06-14T08:17:00.000-05:002019-08-11T18:09:11.482-05:00R.E.M. – In Time: The Best of R.E.M. (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While I’m not always a huge fan of greatest hits compilations (especially for bands that I’m a super fan of), R.E.M. has an unmistakably stellar track record of nailing the format to perfection. After the release of <i>Eponymous</i> in 1988 (which chronicled their early years on I.R.S. Records), the band released <i>In Time: The Best of R.E.M.</i> in 2003 to cover their years on Warner Brothers records. While I missed snagging a vinyl copy of <i>In Time</i> upon its initial release, Craft Records has just released the first vinyl pressing of the jam-packed greatest hits collection in over 15 years. While it’s always nice to have a first-run, this new pressing from Craft is certainly worth the wait, as it’s actually the release’s debut on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl and its 18 tracks are spread out over two discs. While the double LP is available on standard black vinyl, I was stoked to snag one of the translucent blue copies – a wax color choice that looks fantastic alongside the simplified color palette of the album’s artwork.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cataloging the band’s most popular and ubiquitous major label period, <i>In Time</i> features tracks from their politically-minded, commercial smash of <i>Green </i>to the electronically leaning bounciness of <i>Reveal</i>. Standout selections from <i>Out of Time</i>, <i>Automatic for the People</i>, <i>Monster</i>, <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i>, and <i>Up</i> – as well as soundtrack entries from the films <i>Man on the Moon</i> and <i>Vanilla Sky</i> – round out the collection. What’s great about this tailored tracklist is that you can truly hear the band navigating the heights of their musical celebrity, maturing through the departure of drummer Bill Berry, and finding new footing as a trio. <i>In Time</i> also features two previously unreleased tracks, the wonderfully frantic “Bad Day” and “Animal.” Rough versions of “Bad Day” had been rolling around in the R.E.M. camp since the mid-‘80s (under the name “P.S.A.”), but was officially finished (slightly updated and renamed) for <i>In Time</i>. To give the greatest hits compilation a feeling of fresh life, the band released “Bad Day” and “Animal” as singles and even shot fantastic music videos for both.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Alongside the otherworldly music and truly beautiful packaging for <i>In Time</i> (strikingly simple blue artwork on the front and back cover, thick gatefold housing, color liner insert), one of its best features is guitarist Peter Buck’s song-by-song liner notes. Effortlessly dancing between commentary, recollections, and analysis that are both insightful and tongue-in-cheek, Buck manages to capture the grandeur and the unaffectedness of the band in equal measure. He rightfully acknowledges that “our career can be divided into two parts: pre-Losing My Religion and post-Losing My Religion,” he refers to “Stand” as “the stupidest song we’ve ever written,” and states that “Everybody Hurts” “doesn’t really belong to us anymore; it belongs to everybody who has ever gotten any solace from it.” As a personal favorite, he also explains the unconventional means by which one of their most beautiful songs, “Nightswimming,” came to be. All in all, the songs are incredible snippets of the band’s high-profile period, the packaging is incredibly well crafted, and the translucent blue wax variant provides a nice aesthetic touch to the spinning of this welcomed reissued gem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003</i> Tracklist:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Man on the Moon" (from <i>Automatic for the People</i>, 1992)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"The Great Beyond" (from the <i>Man on the Moon</i> soundtrack, 1999)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Bad Day" (previously unreleased)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (from <i>Monster</i>, 1994)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" (from <i>Reveal</i>, 2001)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Losing My Religion" (from <i>Out of Time</i>, 1991)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"E-Bow the Letter" (from <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i>, 1996)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Orange Crush" (from <i>Green</i>, 1988)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Imitation of Life" (from <i>Reveal</i>, 2001)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Daysleeper" (from <i>Up</i>, 1998)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Animal" (previously unreleased)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" (from <i>Automatic for the People</i>, 1992)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Stand" (from <i>Green</i>, 1988)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Electrolite" (from <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i>, 1996)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"All the Right Friends" (from the <i>Vanilla Sky</i> soundtrack, 2001)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Everybody Hurts" (from <i>Automatic for the People</i>, 1992)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"At My Most Beautiful" (from <i>Up</i>, 1998)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Nightswimming" (from <i>Automatic for the People</i>, 1992)</span>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-50787313076567290392018-10-20T14:05:00.000-05:002018-10-27T14:13:24.336-05:00Lenny Kravitz - Mama Said, Are You Gonna Go My Way, Circus, and 5 [Vinyl Reissues] (Album Reviews)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXP7ZhaVkf5MFRFgGhs6FXiWVtHiPrimlcQ3GAIjDuAIZpvIbFxQ6hvElp-LnLw-ZVIdL9Xn0a_8BhiMNm2JZmKNm2izq7QqqPqZJJ6VACaGfrozqFtTth_74gukqCEBXumPxnntU-xwsB/s1600/4+Lenny+Kravitz+Packshots_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1600" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXP7ZhaVkf5MFRFgGhs6FXiWVtHiPrimlcQ3GAIjDuAIZpvIbFxQ6hvElp-LnLw-ZVIdL9Xn0a_8BhiMNm2JZmKNm2izq7QqqPqZJJ6VACaGfrozqFtTth_74gukqCEBXumPxnntU-xwsB/s320/4+Lenny+Kravitz+Packshots_2.png" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ahead of November’s 30th anniversary campaign kick-off for his 1989 debut <i>Let Love Rule</i>, Lenny Kravitz has reissued his four 1990s albums – <i>Mama Said</i>, <i>Are You Gonna Go My Way</i>, <i>Circus</i>, and <i>5</i> – as part of an extensive vinyl reissue campaign that finds the quartet of releases pressed on double LP 180-gram black vinyl (as well as limited-edition, album-specific color variants) and presented in stunningly vibrant gatefold packaging. Three of the four reissues also feature a variety of bonus tracks, many of which are making their vinyl debut. As one of rock’s most unapologetic genre-blurring, hit-making, multi-instrumentalists over the last three decades (and still going strong with the recent release of his new album <i>Raise Vibration</i>), Kravitz’s multi-album reissue project places some of his biggest hits and most inspired musical moments in a celebratory and well-deserved, high-quality vinyl context. </span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Mama Said</i> (1991):</b> After sauntering onto the scene with his funk-rock “how do you do” of <i>Let Love Rule</i> in 1989, Kravitz’s sophomore album <i>Mama Said</i> (released on April 2, 1991) earned him his first dip into the Top 40 on the strength of the mid-tempo, Motown-spiked smash “It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over” going all the way to #2 on the <i>Billboard</i> Hot 100. After producing (and co-writing) Madonna’s “Justify My Love” the year prior, Kravitz’s star was rising and he was able to secure a few amazing guest spots on the album - including Slash playing some blistering funk guitar on lead single “Always on the Run” and Sean Lennon co-writing “All I Ever Wanted.” This reissue of <i>Mama Said</i> marks the first time the album has been available on vinyl in the U.S. and the its robust 14-song tracklisting is beautifully laid out across two LPs with no need (and no room) for extra tracks. The limited-edition color variant of <i>Mama Said</i> is pressed on white/gray marbled vinyl.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Are You Gonna Go My Way</i> (1993):</b> For his third album, Kravitz grew out his signature dreads, cranked the amps, and added a heavy dose of ‘70s classic rock to his eclectic sonic repertoire. Coming hot out of the gate with the insta-classic title track as the album’s lead single, Kravitz soon achieved maximum pop cultural saturation in early 1993 with a simultaneous takeover of radio and MTV via the song’s equally iconic guitar riff and music video. While follow-up singles “Believe” and “Heaven Help” also hit the charts and help bring additional buoyancy to the album’s presence, it was the chart-topping title track that helped earn Kravitz his first Top 20 album and firmly established his status as a bonafide rockstar. This notable reissue of <i>Are You Gonna Go My Way</i> marks the first time that the album is being made available on commercial vinyl and the entire second disc includes a whopping eight bonus tracks that are all marking their vinyl debut. The limited-edition color variant of <i>Are You Gonna Go My Way</i> is pressed on transparent purple/red split vinyl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: white;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Circus</i> (1995):</b> Still riding the wave of creative success that birthed <i>Are You Gonna Go My Way</i>, Kravitz’s follow-up album <i>Circus</i> took some darker turns as he was dealing with the double punch of his mother’s sickness and his encroaching music business woes. However, those outside things didn’t seem to curb Kravitz’s rise, as <i>Circus</i> ended up netting him his first Top 10 album ranking and two modest radio hits in the wildly misunderstood “Rock and Roll Is Dead” and the soul-drenched power ballad “Can’t Get You Off My Mind.” This reissue of <i>Circus</i> is the U.S. vinyl debut of the album and the second side of the second disc features three bonus tracks: “Another Life,” “Confused,” and “Is It Me, Or Is It You?” The limited-edition color variant of <i>Circus</i> is pressed on transparent clear/blue split vinyl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: white;">.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>5</i> (1998):</b> The aptly titled <i>5</i> (it was his fifth album, after all) marked a new era of commercial success for Kravitz, as his monster hit single “Fly Away” went all the way to #1 on the <i>Billboard</i> Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts, as well as topping a variety of international charts. The seemingly inescapable guitar riff also became a quick go-to for a bunch of TV commercials. “Fly Away” even earned Kravitz his first (of many) Grammy award, this one for Best Male Rock Vocal performance at the ’99 Grammys. This reissue of <i>5 </i>marks the vinyl debut of the album and his blistering cover of The Guess Who’s “American Woman” (from <i>Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me</i>) and “Without You” both appear as side D bonus tracks. The limited-edition color variant of <i>5</i> is pressed on solid white/orange split vinyl.</span><br />
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Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-46160716030827657642018-10-12T07:57:00.000-05:002018-10-17T10:14:22.851-05:00U2 - The Best of 1990-2000 [Vinyl Reissue] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0y9zMQR5YAfK_zx8bYTfAVjWrNqDjgZ4UHEyeqFDBX8MdMsYsOzZgCp26RJIagimE9jetD-X5YvezHc0uvO1jjXCjOnTXDdKo2Xnm9hmUEVt_wNADjd_8ktzhHgVt-_cZXZdk_2c8O1Ts/s1600/U2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0y9zMQR5YAfK_zx8bYTfAVjWrNqDjgZ4UHEyeqFDBX8MdMsYsOzZgCp26RJIagimE9jetD-X5YvezHc0uvO1jjXCjOnTXDdKo2Xnm9hmUEVt_wNADjd_8ktzhHgVt-_cZXZdk_2c8O1Ts/s320/U2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With the recent release of U2’s <em>The Best of 1990-2000</em> double LP vinyl reissue, the iconic Irish superstars put an incredible bow on what has already been such a phenomenal year for high-quality reissues of their back catalog. Back in April, U2 reissued a trio of remastered albums – <em>Wide Awake in America</em>, <em>Pop</em>, and <em>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</em> – that spanned an impressively adventurous 15-year section of their career. They followed that up in July with another trio - <em>Achtung Baby</em>, <em>Zooropa</em>, and <em>The Best of 1980-1990</em> – that were handled with the same care and craft as the first round to create an equal “must have” aesthetic. For their seventh vinyl reissue of the year, <em>The Best of 1990-2000</em> is now available as a remastered, double 180-gram set pressed on heavyweight black vinyl and housed in a beautiful gatefold setting with sturdy black-and-white picture-printed inner sleeves for each disc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Originally released in 2002, <em>The Best of 1990-2000</em> highlights the creatively ambitious decade of U2’s career that is sandwiched between their achievements of worldwide musical domination on the back of 1987’s <em>The Joshua Tree</em> and their return-to-form as rock’s elder statesmen on 2004’s <em>How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb</em>. Between those two mainstream-minded (and pop-culturally celebrated) releases, the band threw caution and expectation to the wind to deliver some of their most adventurous (and often polarizing) work to date. They were still delivering radio hits, platinum albums, and heavy rotation music videos, but they were doing it completely on their own terms, their own timetables, and tuned to their own indulgent tastes. </span><br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sj15WP_tUoo" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Their distaste (and downright disavowal) for trend-following throughout the 1990s is welcomingly on display throughout the tracklisting of <em>The Best of 1990-2000</em>, where the abrupt sonic shifts of <em>Achtung Baby</em>, <em>Zooropa</em>, and <em>Pop</em> contrast wonderfully against the more pop-tinged approaches of <em>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</em>. Sprinkle in a couple non-album tracks from the decade (“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” from the <em>Batman Forever</em> soundtrack and “Miss Sarajevo” from their Passengers side project with Brian Eno) along with two brand new tracks recorded just for the album (“The Hands That Built America” from <em>Gangs of New York</em> and “Electrical Storm”) and you’ve got a greatest hits package that acknowledges the past while managing to feel extremely fresh – especially since seven of the previously released tracks are actually new or alternate mixes that are different from their original album versions. </span><br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/klzPALQhm-g" width="640"></iframe><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For a greatest hits package that took that many extra steps to push against the staleness of the format, this vinyl reissue of <em>The Best of 1990-2000</em> impressively matches that tone in sound, layout, and presentation. The music is remastered and spaciously spread out over two 180-gram discs, the packaging uses a minimal color palette to an incredible effect (I love the picture selections so much as well), and the whole piece feels weighty and intentionally presented with craft and care. Even if you already have this album on another format, this impressive reissue is worth picking up for its lush sonic upgrade and its rich high-quality aesthetics. Plus, it makes an incredible shelfmate to accompany its six sonic siblings from the rest of this year’s offerings from the band! </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYE71TYtzgfS8kBHE2vXtQ34L7qJnrQol8iBRQRAcGy8yGpEgqnPl-ckrv6iWY17xfBgsksg554Np6mD9tqkyoL0zw00N-FKI76kBkRfqHan2U6tyy5fxyfucGiM7xG1Wn2PFy_Ge5jmVF/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1280" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYE71TYtzgfS8kBHE2vXtQ34L7qJnrQol8iBRQRAcGy8yGpEgqnPl-ckrv6iWY17xfBgsksg554Np6mD9tqkyoL0zw00N-FKI76kBkRfqHan2U6tyy5fxyfucGiM7xG1Wn2PFy_Ge5jmVF/s400/5.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-78019531373256222882018-09-19T09:00:00.002-05:002018-09-19T13:45:17.294-05:00Matthew Sweet - Altered Beast [Vinyl Reissue] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVFsxLqF1kAy2Ean0XuiFYH7qnVKjurFJDCGbLLGSRgKSHEOvmJ4xPgA9XLC4RKT9ZVn9j25N4Bkquktj1uA8BawbJPH_sLSJCub9qKnBWWCLMCeGDnCc_wYEiN-BwD9RrysT1g1TgZlx/s1600/MS_AlteredBeast_Front_Cover_Mini-1536x1528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1536" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVFsxLqF1kAy2Ean0XuiFYH7qnVKjurFJDCGbLLGSRgKSHEOvmJ4xPgA9XLC4RKT9ZVn9j25N4Bkquktj1uA8BawbJPH_sLSJCub9qKnBWWCLMCeGDnCc_wYEiN-BwD9RrysT1g1TgZlx/s320/MS_AlteredBeast_Front_Cover_Mini-1536x1528.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After kicking things off with <em>100% Fun</em> back in July, Intervention Records continues their artist-approved Matthew Sweet vinyl reissue campaign with this month’s release of <em>Altered Beast</em>. Originally released during the summer of 1993 on Zoo Entertainment, <em>Altered Beast</em> is Sweet’s fourth solo album and had the unenviable task of following up his widely celebrated and career-defining album <em>Girlfriend</em>. As with their <em>100% Fun reissue</em>, Intervention has once again delivered an impeccably crafted album that is visually stunning and sonically brilliant. This reissue is 100% analog mastered from the original analog master tape sources and the original 15-track album has been given some room to breathe through an impressive double-disc pressing (15 album tracks split over three sides plus six bonus tracks on the fourth) on “ultra quiet” 180-gram black vinyl. The packaging is really gorgeous as well, once again being housed in an “Old Style” gatefold from Stoughton Printing with a blindingly crisp, faithfully recreated cover from the original. I love the choice of the orange cover version, as the original CD featured five different color variations and this vibrant orange truly pops in this larger LP setting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Upon its original release back in 1993, <em>Altered Beast</em> spawned a couple of radio semi-hits with “The Ugly Truth” and “Time Capsule.” However, its true sonic legacy lies in the super-stacked, all-star level roster of session musicians that Sweet surrounded himself with to the capture his ferocious new collection of songs. Alongside his own guitar-playing, Sweet invited a trio of ‘70s New York punk rock royals that included Television’s Richard Lloyd and Voidoids guitarists Robert Quine and Ivan Julian. For drums, he also assembled an unbelievable trio of legends: Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello), Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac), and Jody Stephens (Big Star). Rounding things out on keyboard was Nicky Hopkins, who played on some of the biggest albums in The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and The Who catalogs. Hopkins also played with Jefferson Aeroplane during their Woodstock set. Needless tosay, there are more than a handful of truly inspired musical performances woven throughout <em>Altered Beast</em>, often multiple ones happening all at the same time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, the embarrassment of musical riches on <em>Altered Beast</em> may have also led to one of its biggest points of criticisms. As <em>Rolling Stone</em> stated in their initial review of the album in 1993, “Though much of their playing is exciting, the music sounds cramped, the victim of too many overdubs. Rather than pointing up especially emotive moments, Sweet allows the music to swamp him.” It’s a fair point, as some moments on the album feel like there is a lot going simultaneously, but not necessarily cohesively. At certain points Sweet’s voice can get lost in the mix a bit as well. While some of this may have been intentional artistic choices – especially after the powerfully melodic sheen of <em>Girlfriend</em> – some of it is just sheer sonic physics. CDs only have so much bandwidth to play with and if you’ve got multiple instruments fighting for space in the same frequency ranges, some parts are just going to get diluted or washed out entirely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And this is where Intervention Records new vinyl reissue comes in to save the day! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sterling Sound’s Ryan K. Smith deftly mastered this new reissue from the original analog master tapes and the tracks have been spread out over two LPs, instead of trying to cram everything on to just two sides. Both decisions combine to create a wonderfully fanned out sonic expanse that enlarges the roaring guitars and thundering drums that is equally pleasing and pummeling. Also, unlike CD versions of the album, there is no quality loss as you increase the volume. Intervention has once again created a high-quality vinyl reissue that is not only meant to be played loud, it practically demands it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Continuing the much-appreciated "expanded edition" nature of Sweet’s <em>100% Fun</em> reissue, this <em>Altered Beast</em> reissue features an incredible chunk of bonus tracks that were recorded during the same era as the album. “Born in Sin” and “Ultrasuede” originally appeared as b-sides to his “The Ugly Truth” CD single (with the former featuring some dreamy pedal steel from Greg Leisz and the latter featuring some wonderfully fuzzed-out electric guitar from Lloyd), “Superdeformed” opened the jaw-dropping <em>No Alternative</em> compilation from ’93, “Speed of Light” and “Thing” were b-sides to the “Time Capsule” CD single, and the in-and-out in under two minutes noisey romp of “Bovine Connection” (featuring Fleetwood on drums) originally appeared on a pretty fantastic Zoo Entertainment label compilation that also featured Big Star, Tool, and Green Jelly’s cover of “Anarchy in the U.K.” All six bonus tracks make up Side D of this vinyl reissue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Side D bonus tracks:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Born In Sin"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Ultrasuede"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Superdeformed"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Speed of Light"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Thing"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Bovine Connection"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The artist-approved expanded edition reissue of <em>Altered Beast</em> can be ordered directly from Intervention Records on vinyl or CD here: </span><a href="http://www.interventionrecords.com/artists/matthew-sweet/"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">http://www.interventionrecords.com/artists/matthew-sweet/</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Additionally, you can also pre-order the entire 4-album bundle from Intervention with</em> 100% Fun <em>and</em> Altered Beast <em>shipping now, </em>Son of Altered Beast <em>(available for the first time ever on vinyl) shipping in September, and </em>Girlfriend<em> shipping in November.</em></span><br />
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</em>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-81967210022846401122018-07-30T08:23:00.000-05:002018-08-01T22:52:15.216-05:00U2 – Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and The Best of 1980-1990 [Vinyl Reissues] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBX7bVwSFfUUJHbqVQPoiFXhcBBUZn_q1kPA8wLFcot7E3NlBM104psxb-SFj2syCU5baT9ZnNXYiSuPKf5WBAaMsy6HaCYFAwiE74M_vvDRAShyphenhyphenGJAIjfr1mRzZJg7nwx_XNG242Q4dDl/s1600/u2-vynle.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="624" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBX7bVwSFfUUJHbqVQPoiFXhcBBUZn_q1kPA8wLFcot7E3NlBM104psxb-SFj2syCU5baT9ZnNXYiSuPKf5WBAaMsy6HaCYFAwiE74M_vvDRAShyphenhyphenGJAIjfr1mRzZJg7nwx_XNG242Q4dDl/s640/u2-vynle.PNG" width="624" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Back in April, U2 reissued a trio of albums – <i>Wide Awake In America</i>, <i>Pop</i>, and <i>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</i> – that spanned an impressively adventurous 15-year section of their career. All three albums were brilliantly remastered, pressed on heavyweight vinyl, and packaged with an extra attention to detail that made for a brilliant finished product that shined both musically and visually. Looking to strike twice with the same well-crafted formula, this month finds the band releasing another trio of vinyl reissues – <i>Achtung Baby</i>, <i>Zooropa</i>, and <i>The Best of 1980-1990</i> – that have been handled with the same care and craft to make this batch boast an equal “must have” aesthetic. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While the first trio of reissues felt like three different snapshots of the band’s multi-persona arc, this newest trio of reissues reflects a more compacted section of their career, specifically the experimental build-up and return-to-form release of their ‘90s output. <i>Achtung Baby</i> was originally released in November of 1991, <i>Zooropa</i> followed closely behind just a year and a half later in July of 1993, and <i>The Best of 1980-1990</i> (originally released in November of 1998) – while understandably a greatest hits project – served as a nice reminder of the band’s ‘80s musical dominance after the backlash they received from 1997’s largely misunderstood <i>Pop</i>. Taken together, the three releases transport listeners back to a time where U2 tried to test as many boundaries as they could on record and in concert to see how far fans would travel with them, pretty much found the tipping point with <i>Pop</i>, and then reset the playing field with their first ever greatest hits package. It was a great time to be a U2 fan and these gorgeous vinyl reissues serve as both a reminder of their fearless creativity and a heavy-duty upgrade to your record collection. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Achtung Baby </i>not only has the distinction of being the album that had to somehow follow the monster smash of <i>The Joshua Tree</i> (<i>Rattle and Hum</i> doesn’t count as a proper complete studio album), but it has also been a bit of a white whale for many U2 fans looking to own a vinyl copy of the album. Original first-run pressings from 1991 have often fetched triple digits on the secondary market. This new reissue will help remedy that situation for many fans and it does so with impressive touches that could actually enhance the overall experience above the original pressings. This new <i>Achtung Baby</i> reissue features completely remastered audio spread out over two discs of 180g heavyweight vinyl and features strikingly beautiful collaged picture sleeves to house the records. There’s also a nice standalone lyric sheet insert and a download card for all 12 tracks. For pure existence alone, <i>Achtung Baby</i> may end up being the standout pick of the trio for most fans.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After the widespread success of <i>Achtung Baby</i> and the critical buzz of the accompanying Zoo TV tour, audiences welcomed the newest incarnation of U2 so warmly that the band experimented even further (and quicker) with <i>Zooropa </i>– recording the album in short six week session in early 1993. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the album release, so this vinyl reissue goes a little further with the extras – as it’s presented for the very first time as a double LP and it features two bonus remixes making up the fourth side: “Lemon” (The Perfecto Mix) and “Numb” (Gimme Some More Dignity Mix). This one is my personal standout of the batch due to the remastered audio being given more space across two discs and getting the two incredibly cool remixes on vinyl. Plus, the artwork on the cover and on the internal picture sleeves pop so crisply in this layout that it’s easy to get lost in the visuals as the music is transporting you. That may sound a bit clichéd but it’s totally true in the case of this reissue. If you only pick up one of the batch, my gentle nudge is towards <i>Zooropa</i>. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5WybiA263bw" width="640"></iframe></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How you end up feeling about the reissue of <i>The Best of 1980-1990</i> is probably dependent upon how you feel about greatest hits packages in general. But make no mistake about it; U2 is a band that not only earned the right to release a greatest hits album, but they also did it in a way that allowed them to be split across decades. <i>The Best of 1980-1990</i> covers the band’s first decade and includes many of their biggest and farthest-reaching hits from <i>War,</i> <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i>, and <i>The Joshua Tree</i>. Originally released in late 1998, the album served to remind longtime fans of what they loved most about the band throughout the ‘80s (especially if the were having trouble following the <i>Zooropa</i>/<i>Pop</i> trajectory) and it helped bring younger fans they garnered from their newer electronic/alternative/semi-industrial elements up to speed on the band’s previous output. It was a certifiable win-win and the album functions as one of the few greatest hits releases that doesn’t feel like a cash-grab retread. This vinyl reissue of <i>The Best of 1980-1990</i> is remastered, pressed on two 180g vinyl discs, and housed in a fantastic gatefold outer sleeve with gorgeously printed inner sleeves. Much like the reissue of <i>Wide Awake in America</i> from the earlier batch of reissues, the starkness of <i>The Best of 1980-1990</i> proves to be an arresting foil against that vibrant aesthetics of the other two releases. The black-and-white photos chronicling the band’s early career contrast really nicely against the gold background splashes and it all works together to set the right context for the compilation of songs. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The vinyl reissues of </i>Achtung Baby, Zooropa, <i>and </i>The Best of 1980-1990 <i>have all been remastered, pressed on 180g vinyl, and include a download card for the songs on each album. You can order them all individually <a href="https://u2.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?sourceCode=U2TUMGWWUSD&categoryName=Music&artistName=U2com" target="_blank">here</a></i>.</span><br />
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</span>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-75027567354271747052018-07-10T07:04:00.001-05:002018-07-10T07:34:58.608-05:00Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun [Vinyl Reissue] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKGmc2dXW0JmSZ31vheIs3xWMUif22ec0qVX_UnTIiH2BEe8V5O80XqsoOyxP6rAYsQEivszbOvK5k6e-2_AuvIdq3SPpFUOBGVZASTZ_pDZ0JFegaoQupTe2FTnCcP6pOiAxb7p5Y3VI/s1600/MS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="500" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKGmc2dXW0JmSZ31vheIs3xWMUif22ec0qVX_UnTIiH2BEe8V5O80XqsoOyxP6rAYsQEivszbOvK5k6e-2_AuvIdq3SPpFUOBGVZASTZ_pDZ0JFegaoQupTe2FTnCcP6pOiAxb7p5Y3VI/s320/MS.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A couple of years ago, Intervention Records crafted exceptional reissues of Everclear’s second and third albums (<i>Sparkle and Fade</i> and <i>So Much For The Afterglow</i>), proving that they not only understand that there is a strong market for high quality ‘90s vinyl reissues but that they can also deliver them as a refreshingly stellar product that goes beyond a simple repress. While Intervention often handles a wide variety of genres and eras, they’re readying another set of ‘90s classics to be rolled out over the next few months with their re-release of four Matthew Sweet albums: <i>Girlfriend </i>(1991), <i>Altered Beast</i> (1993), <i>Son of Altered Beast</i> (1994), and <i>100% Fun </i>(1995). These reissues have all been approved by Sweet himself, are presented in expanded edition double LP format, and are pressed on 180-gram black vinyl.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first reissue out of the gate is <i>100% Fun</i>, Sweet’s highest charting album that is best known for its lead-off single “Sick of Myself” (which peaked at #2, also giving Sweet his highest chart performance for a single). Produced by Brendan O’Brien and originally released on vinyl on February 28, 1995 (with the CD version coming out a couple weeks later), <i>100% Fun</i> featured Sweet at the top of his power pop game. Eschewing the dour, angst-fueled vibes of the second-wave commercialized alt-rock copycats that saturated mid-‘90s radio, Sweet’s nuanced melodic range and sugary pop hooks helped set him apart from the majority of what was categorized as alternative music at the time. The insanely catchy “Sick of Myself” made a huge impact on radio and MTV and Sweet rounded out a busy 1995 with a nice trio of soundtrack appearances (<i>National Lampoon’s Senior Trip</i>, <i>Ace Venture: When Nature Calls</i>, and<i> The Babysitter’s Club</i>) and a memorable slot on the <i>Saturday Morning: Cartoon’s Greatest Hits</i> compilation with his perfectly paired “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” cover.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sNfocDNZWY8" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Intervention’s reissue of Sweet’s <i>100% Fun</i> has been masterfully reframed, both sonically and visually. For starters, the album’s 12 songs (plus the 7 bonus tracks) have been fully mastered from the original analog master tapes and are presented on “ultra quiet” 180-gram vinyl. The pressings are super crisp and the quality of the mix seems to heighten as the volume increases. While some vinyl records are known to lose some warmth at higher volumes, both discs of <i>100% Fun</i> welcome the challenge and shine out brighter the louder you play them. Even in some of the album’s more delicate moments – the Beach Boys inspired harmonic choral outro of “Not When I Need It,” the breathy organ-drum interplay of “Everything Changes” – the inherent surface noise is almost non-existent. Of course, in its most raw and raucous moments – the vibrant guitar squeals of “Sick of Myself,” the psych-blues howl of “Giving It Back,” the groovy growl of “Super Baby” – finds the highs and lows screaming off the wax in the most satisfying ways.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Packaging-wise, the double disc album comes in a fantastic gatefold and feels incredibly durable. The artwork is faithful to the original album (save for the addition of the bonus tracks listed on the back jacket) and features a striking laminate sheen that really brings a new life to the vintage childhood photo of Sweet that envelopes the cover. The “Old Style” gatefold was handled by the famed Stoughton Printing and the impressive quality and attention to detail in the double-pocket jacket mimics the same craftsmanship that is present in the songs. Both aspects being handled so attentively and with such finesse by Intervention make this reissue a true audio-visual feast.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On top of the superb audio and visual aspects of this <i>100% Fun</i> reissue, Sweet has also included seven outtake bonus tracks that were a part of the original <i>100% Fun</i> master tapes. Some of them have found their way onto previous releases (“Sense of Adventure” and “Slowly” were bonus tracks on the Japanese import CD, “Never Said Goodbye” was the b-side to the “Sick of Myself” CD/cassette single, “You” was the fourth song on the “We’re The Same” 4-track CD single) and some of them have never been released at all. Either way, all seven tracks are presented in this setting on vinyl for the first time and make up the entirety of the second vinyl disc. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bonus Tracks:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Sense of Adventure”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Slowly”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Breaks My Heart”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Walk Out” (Alternate Mix)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Never Said Goodbye”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“You”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Our Song”</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gCiMN88JY1g" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The artist-approved expanded edition reissue of <i>100% Fun</i> can be ordered directly from Intervention Records on vinyl or CD here: <a href="http://www.interventionrecords.com/artists/matthew-sweet/">http://www.interventionrecords.com/artists/matthew-sweet/</a></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Additionally, you can also pre-order the entire 4-album bundle from Intervention with</i> 100% Fun <i>shipping now</i>, Altered Beast <i>shipping in August</i>, Son of Altered Beast <i>(available for the first time ever on vinyl) shipping in September</i>, <i>and</i> Girlfriend <i>shipping in November</i>. </span><br />
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</span> Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-15663785163368946102018-06-06T08:15:00.000-05:002018-07-09T23:58:09.422-05:00Liz Phair – Whip-Smart and whitechocolatespaceegg [Vinyl Reissues] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When Liz Phair announced her plans for the massive <i>Exile in Guyville </i>reissue to celebrate its 25th anniversary, her feverishly devoted fan base (presently company very much included) were also hoping the buzz would lead to some equally anticipated vinyl reissues for some of the other gems in her back catalog. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long to hear the good news. This Friday (June 8), Capitol/UMe will be releasing a trio of Phair’s albums – <i>Whip-Smart</i>, <i>whitechocolatespaceegg</i>, and <i>Liz Phair</i> – all making their illustrious debut on 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Whip-Smart</i> was originally released in September of 1994, just a little over a year after the cannonball splash of her official debut album, <i>Exile in Guyville</i>. To say expectations were unfairly high for Phair’s follow-up is quite the understatement. However, she met the challenge of the sophomore slump head on by building on her sound instead of just trying to replicate the lightening-in-a-bottle explosion of her debut. <i>Whip-Smart</i> features some of Phair’s sharpest writing and the lead single “Supernova” quickly became a Top 10 hit on the <i>Billboard</i> Modern Rock Tracks chart with an additional massive presence on MTV throughout the summer of 1994. The title track follow-up single landed Phair another radio hit (landing at #24) and overall the album peaked at #27 on the <i>Billboard</i> 200 that year.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This new vinyl reissue of <i>Whip-Smart</i> from Capitol/UMe is beautifully pressed on a single 180-gram black disc and the playback is full and superb. I’ve always been drawn to the Soviet-era propaganda meets lo-fi photography aesthetic of the album’s cover art and the color palette seriously pops on this reissue. Even though it’s a single album, the packaging is constructed in a sturdy gate-fold and the interior panels feature a cool collage of polaroids mostly shot by Phair herself. There’s also a single page paper insert that features the album credits. While I’ve got some serious teenage nostalgic ties to this album – it was one of the cornerstones of my inaugural “8 Albums for a Penny” Columbia House order when I was 14 – I can objectively confirm that this is a solid reissue anchored by a lush, heavyweight pressing and faithful to the original artwork and packaging. Capitol/UMe is also offering <i>Whip-Smart</i> on a 130-gram “orange smoke” variant.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Four years after the release of Whip-Smart, Phair released her third record, <i>whitechocolatespaceegg</i>. Continuing her intuitively creative album-to-album evolution, her songwriting included a bit more pop music influences and her lyrics reflected some of her recent real life transitions to being a wife and mother. Phair’s gift for intimate frankness and honesty were still very much in force on whitechocolatespaceegg and the tonal shifts in her music and lyrics revealed an artist who was still leading by her heart and instincts instead of letting precedents and expectations lead the way. “Polyester Bride” and “Johnny Feelgood” were both released as singles to respectable radio airplay and the album managed to still land in the mid-30s of the <i>Billboard</i> 200, even without a standout “hit” to be found within its tracklist.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The unpolished pop confidence of <i>whitechocolatespaceegg</i> rings through tastefully on this new vinyl reissue and I’m so glad that the album’s 16 tracks are spread out over two 180-gram discs instead of trying to cram them all onto one disc via a lower quality pressing. With four songs to each side of wax, the album is really given room to breathe in its unfolding. While I would’ve loved another gate-fold presentation like <i>Whip-Smart</i>, <i>whitechocolatespaceegg</i>’s two disc are housed in a single sleeve packaging with an additional full-color lyric sheet insert. Also, the understated cover art is refreshingly minimalist in its mixture of heavy black-and-white starkness with restrained splashes of yellow and blue. Much like <i>Whip-Smart</i>, Capitol/UMe is also offering another variant of this reissue, this time on 130-gram “yellow smoke” wax. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On the whole, vinyl reissues can always be a mixed bag depending on who is releasing them and how much attention and care are put into the project. For <i>Whip-Smart </i>and <i>whitechocolatespaceegg</i>, the quality of pressing and artwork recreation are both top notch, delivering an incredible experience for both the ears and eyes. I especially love the gate-fold layout of <i>Whip-Smart</i> and the double disc decision for <i>whitechocolatespaceegg</i>, both of which are elements where cutting corners could’ve cheapened the manufacturing costs but delivered a sub-par product. Kudos all around on these reissues and I highly recommend picking them both up to her these essential ‘90s albums in a high-quality vinyl presentation. </span><br />
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Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-15859669157439103842018-04-13T11:19:00.004-05:002018-04-13T11:21:16.969-05:00U2 - Wide Awake In America, Pop, and All That You Can't Leave Behind [Vinyl Reissues] (Album Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI92JTIE5YEuMMT7p0ohfBCOECTjk3ILkI_SBuz93iFbxEXiSAJ-tokWXxxN9h64ZVJgY2Gr-gQza_HMriJaIo6tj4wlyhzWxAo_HdW7qExA02r08DEti294Z3o6ps4ZQK9VnPUII4b716/s1600/p1c7jhn6gd1ruu1jv7sqa18am7ce5.001.jpeg" /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For U2 fans (especially of the vinyl variety), April is a month to celebrate. The band is thankfully dipping into their back catalog and reissuing three of their albums (<i>Wide Awake In America</i>, <i>Pop</i>, and <i>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</i>) on vinyl for the first time since their initial releases. All three reissues have been remastered, are pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl, and come with a download card. They will all be releasing this Friday (April 13).</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While some vinyl reissues can feel like afterthoughts that suffer from thin, low quality pressings and rush job packaging, this trio of U2 releases sound, feel, and look pristine. Even if you already own vinyl copies of the original pressings, your ears and eyes will thank you for upgrading to these reissues as the heavier 180g versions shine in their rich, clean sonic output. I was very impressed with the quality of the pressings and loved hearing these albums that I already knew so well shine a little crisper and wider in their remastered forms. Also, the reissued LPs just feel sturdier than the original LPs, due to the heavier quality wax.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Because these three reissues span across 15 years of the band’s catalog – <i>Wide Awake In America</i> was originally released in 1985, <i>Pop</i> in 1997, and <i>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</i> in 2000 – the faithfully reproduced packaging of each album aesthetically echoes the rise of the band as well. <i>Wide Awake In America</i> is a 4-song EP that was released after the success of <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> but before the worldwide boom of <i>The Joshua Tree</i>. As such, it’s simple stark sleeve artwork and lack of inserts appropriately captures that pre-super stardom period of the band. The music is the only thing doing the talking and with the otherworldy live version of “Bad” contained within its grooves, that was all that needed to be said at the time. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By contrast, <i>Pop</i> finds the band at either it’s most bombastic or its most bloated (depending on who you ask). Either way, it definitely highlights the band at their most misunderstood – which is an understandable outcome for any group willing to fearlessly reinvent themselves after achieving so much worldwide success on such a grand scale. With this reissue of <i>Pop</i> – in my opinion, the star of the trio – the gatefold packaging, dual bright color inserts, standalone lyric sheet, and double disc presentation all combine to make a standout release that demands to be listened to and looked over. Whether you’re returning to the album as a fan or cautiously willing to change your mind about its contents, it’s unquestionably worth another spin. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>All That You Can’t Leave Behind</i> finds the band musically returning to form a bit from the <i>Pop</i> era pomp but still operating at such a high level on all cylinders. This iteration of the band finding their footing while continuing to move forward is wonderfully echoed in the minimalist packaging of the black-and-white album cover photo and the beautiful 16-page booklet that features some of photographer Anton Corbijn’s most visually stunning work with the band.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While you may already own so many of the hit songs and fan favorite deep cuts contained on these three albums via CD or digital file, these vinyl reissues are really worth the pick-up due to their high quality production, both sonically and visually. If you’re only interested in grabbing one, the <i>Pop </i>double LP truly shines in its presentation. However, you can be confident that there’s not a dud to be seen or heard in this wonderful batch of reissues. </span><br />
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</span> Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-28559425191694753582017-12-09T11:12:00.000-06:002017-12-09T11:14:04.292-06:00The Beatles – The Christmas Records (Vinyl Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From 1963 to 1969, The Beatles recorded a yearly off-the-cuff Christmas offering, pressed it onto economical flexi-disc material, and mailed it out to their adoring fan club members. After the band’s tumultuous year in 1970, they compiled all of the previously released holiday-themed material into one single LP (<i>From Then To You</i>) and mailed that out to their UK fan club members, with a similar LP release (<i>The Beatles’ Christmas Album</i>) being shipped out to their US fan club members the following spring. While multiple bootlegs and trading tapes have surfaced over the years, there’s never been an official release of the complete Christmas recordings available for purchase until this year’s highly anticipated and incredibly stunning <i>The Christmas Records</i> vinyl box set.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First things first, let’s get the logistics out of the way. <i>The Christmas Records</i> vinyl box set features all seven Beatles Christmas fan club singles pressed onto vivid color vinyl, tucked into original artwork sleeves, and all housed together with an accompanying 16-page booklet in a sturdy lift-top box. Since the original yearly releases were sent out on flimsy flexi-discs (a material that was so unruly that one of the newsletters included instructions on how to keep your record needle from jumping all over the disc), these new durable 7” vinyl pressings allow for the best listening experience that this material has ever been offered on. Additionally, the combination of original artwork sleeves with playfully colored vinyl strikes an amazing aesthetic balance that feels both true to the original and also refreshingly updated for old and new fans alike. Looking over each aspect of the design and production, it’s easy to see and feel the care and attention to detail that went into creating and presenting this vinyl box set in a manner that reflects the uniquely special nature of the material inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Amazing logistics aside, what makes this retrospective release so interesting is the manner in which it functions as an unintentional time lapse of the unparalleled trajectory of the band – professionally and creatively – in such a short time. The 16-page booklet features reproductions of the five year-end newsletters (the last two years of Christmas records didn’t include a newsletter) and there are a lot of interesting nuggets that remind fans just how much transpired during the Beatles all-too-short whirlwind career. It’s incredibly quaint to read the first Christmas newsletter from 1963 and see: “We’re all tremendously pleased to see how successful our fabulous foursome have been with their latest single “I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND” and their second LP album “WITH THE BEATLES”. The next year, the holiday newsletter posits the question “How would you like to start up a pen-friendship with a Beatle Person in America?” and gives details on how UK fans can swap letters with US fans. The Beatles are top-tier pop music mythos now, so these reminders of their early days bring an extra level of humanity and significance to their seemingly otherworldy existence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even the cover art on the singles help track the arc of the band’s creative evolution. The first three covers (covering the era of <i>Please Please Me</i> to <i>Rubber Soul</i>) feature black and white promo shots of the fresh-faced lads with a single splash of color in either the background or line of text. The following three singles (covering the era of <i>Revolver</i> to <i>The Beatles</i>/”The White Album”) feature experimental psychedelic collage work. The final Christmas single from 1969 (the year that saw both <i>Yellow Submarine</i> and <i>Abbey Road</i> released) is just a single blurry photo with no text or discernable framework. The band was essentially no more at this point – even the material on the 1969 Christmas single was recorded separately and feels disjointed when listened to – so the cover photo of something colorful and vibrant that’s been blurred to the point of disorientation is quite fitting as commentary for where the band was at that point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Overall, this box set is really stunning in all of its visual components (box, sleeves, booklet of newsletters, wax color choices) and reading through the accompanying annual newsletter is a really interesting experience. On its own merits, the individual collection is absolutely worth the purchase to have all of the Christmas singles in one place and presented in such a cool way. Additionally, it’s really impressive to see what it brings to the table as a larger statement by encapsulating some of the wildly dramatic moments of The Beatles career in whimsically unpolished year-end snippets. Whether you’re a Beatles fan or just a fan of pop culture musical milestones, this beautiful collection of Christmas singles is well worth checking out.</span><br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="333" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-HtBDK0y9-k" width="547"></iframe></span>Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7160814714943181441.post-21183149122811623882017-05-16T12:47:00.001-05:002017-05-16T12:47:24.936-05:00Chuck Klosterman X by Chuck Klosterman (Book Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“<i>My perception of reality is so inflexibly personal that it has almost no correlation to what’s happening in the world outside of my own skull.</i>”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This Chuck Klosterman sentiment from “Something Else” – an essay that starts off by discussing the reasons he appreciates AC/DC more now as an adult than he ever did as a 14-year old (short answer: “AC/DC was too real for me. I preferred artifice”) and then transforms into commentary on how his previous preoccupation with death has now flipped in the age of immediate (and extreme) eulogization after a celebrity dies (using last year’s passing of David Bowie and Prince as examples) – is a beautifully concise peek behind the curtain into the overarching worldview and writing style that Klosterman has employed in his ever-developing career as an author, writer, and journalist. His newest offering, <i>Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century</i>, is overflowing with these types of “existentialism via entertainment” dissertations as it collects a wide variety of his previously published pieces from the last decade and contextualizes them anew with updated introductions, footnotes, and unpublished passages.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Much like his other celebrated essay collection releases, Klosterman reveals himself to be an incredibly adept observer at the larger implications that can be mined from analyzing the deceptively ephemeral elements of our era (from minutia to mass consumption), especially when it comes to music, sports, television, film, and our popular culture at large. Throughout the book, Klosterman showcases an impressive range of topics and subjects that he handles with equal proficiency. Whether he’s interviewing musicians (Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement), profiling popular athletes (Kobe Bryant, Tim Tebow), trying (in vain) to cover the unearthing of a 50-year old time capsule in Tulsa, trying (in vain) to get Tom Brady to talk about Deflategate, discussing the significance of television shows like <i>The McLaughlin Group</i>, <i>The Walking Dead</i>, <i>Breaking Bad</i>, <i>The Wire</i>, <i>The Sopranos</i>, and <i>Mad Men</i>, eulogizing Lou Reed and Jani Lane, satirically cataloging all of The Beatles albums, or writing a 10,000-word essay on KISS, Klosterman covers a lot of (seemingly) tertiary territory and (unquestionably) draws out the underlying elements of humanity that can make a story involving a non-descript 1988 basketball game between two North Dakota junior college basketball teams seem incredibly weighty and rich for examination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course, Klosterman is also just an incredibly engaging writer that can be read purely for entertainment purposes as well (and I mean that as the highest of creative compliments). I especially admire the way Klosterman approaches the past from purely non-nostalgic places. For example, when he was tasked with profiling Noel Gallagher around the release of his 2011 solo album <i>High Flying Birds</i>, Klosterman actually takes the opportunity to get Gallagher to have an in-depth discussion about <i>Be Here Now</i>, the maligned 1997 Oasis album that was self-admittedly fueled by so many drugs that cocaine should’ve been given a co-writing credit. Klosterman’s reason for his line of questioning is airtight: “When you like a band, you want to hear about the good times. When you love a band, you want to hear about the bad times.” So, instead of being an Oasis fan who wants to bask in the glory of the otherworldy success of their sophomore smash <i>(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?</i>, Klosterman is an Oasis fan that is far more interested in the follow-up faceplant of <i>Be Here Now</i> and how that shaped the band’s legacy and Gallagher’s future creative output. Klosterman’s swerve results in an incredibly entertaining (and quite informative) interview that show’s Gallagher weighing in on the difference between fame and success (“Fame is something that is bestowed upon you because of success. Success is something you have to chase.”), how the band’s trajectory takes on a different spin if you view their catalog in reverse, and how the idea of “perception” doesn’t discredit what the band accomplished at the beginning of their career. Using an American football analogy, Gallagher hypothesizes that if you come from behind to tie an opponent with two minutes left then you feel like you’ve won but if you were leading the whole game and your opponent ties with two minutes left then you feel like you’ve lost; however, it’s still just a tie either way. While being an Oasis fan may heighten the level of your own enjoyment regarding a piece like this, Klosterman’s angles and insights allow for multiple takeaways that don’t make familiarity with the subject a requirement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With almost 40 essays contained within it, <i>Chuck Klosterman X</i> almost guarantees to have a little something for everyone who has an even passing relationship with (or interest in) popular culture and the way humans interact with (and within) it. It doesn’t matter if he’s breaking down the difference between watching live sporting events versus DVR-ed ones (“We don’t crave live sporting events because we need immediacy; we crave them because they represent those (increasingly rare) circumstances where the entire spectrum of possibility is in play.”) or he’s trying to articulate his overwhelming personal connection to Charlie Brown (“I haven’t watched <i>A Charlie Brown Christmas</i> in at least twenty-five years, solely because I can’t emotionally reconcile the final scene: I can’t get over the fact that the other kids don’t tell Charlie Brown that his decision to pick the tiny, pathetic tree was ultimately the right call… This will bother me forever.”) or wondering if by not being well-versed in something as ubiquitous as the Harry Potter universe, is he “doomed to misunderstand everything else” that will transpire in future decades of popular culture when the “bookish kids reading Harry Potter… almost certainly go on to control the media”? (A point that shows up again in a footnote from his profile on Kobe Bryant: ‘But that’s not a universal thing. That’s like saying every wizard within Slytherin House is a villain.’ I pretend like this makes sense.”), Klosterman navigates cultural snapshots and the passage of time with an unbelievable level of intuitiveness, wit, and dexterity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Besides, until another writer comes along that can start a piece off with the challenge of attending a Creed concert and a Nickelback concert in the same night, discuss the differences between acceptably reflexive hate and the kind you have to justify (example: “If you criticize Dave Matthews Band within earshot of even one of their fans, you will be forced to justify every negative feeling you possess to the fullest extent of the law”), veer off into a relevant aside about the 1988 presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis, and then uncover what it means for two bands to represent the “most hated (yet popular) rock band” of one era and the “most popular (yet hated) rock band” of another, Klosterman’s got the market cornered.</span>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here's a list of Klosterman's upcoming book tour dates as well:</span><br />
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Will Hodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11682080878485356295noreply@blogger.com1