Calexico Teams with a Symphony for Record Store Day

by Cat Johnson

For Record Store Day this year, Calexico is releasing a career-spanning collection of songs. This alone is something to look forward to since the band has been releasing solid records since the early ’90s.

What makes this release, titled Spiritoso, even cooler is that the songs were recorded live, accompanied by symphony; strings, horns, vibes and all.

Here’s a teaser:

Shelby Lynne Waxes Nostalgic About her Record Collection

In the Spotlight: Squirrel Bait

by Raul

Squirrel Bait, much like Husker Du, was playing Emo before it had a name or a scene. Formed in 1983 by friends David Grubbs, Clark Johnson, and Rich Schuler in Louisville Kentucky, Squirrel Bait had quite a successful run with a few lineup changes until ‘87. Opening for big names of the Chicago underground such as Naked Reagan and Big Black they were able to land a record deal with Homestead Records. Flying under the radar and fizzling out in ‘87, Squirrel Bait left a blueprint for both Grunge and Emo. In case you missed out, Drag City is bringing Squirrel Bait back with vinyl reissues of their first EP and full-length LP. Both will be available at Streetlight Records on January 22nd. Here is what Drag City had to say about Squirrel Bait.

Louisville’s been a pipe-line of pure hot bed (hot bed of pure pipe-line?) for Drag City singers and songs and sounds for dang near decades now, some of which we’ve even resurrected from a time prior to our own birth (These two hands… our clay children!)! One such band bore the likes of long time DC artist-in-residence David Grubbs, as well as the the Palace-collabing and Slint foundling bros, Brian McMahon and Britt Walford (along with the man called M, “Papa” David Pajo) – yes, that’s right, the seminal punk outfit, Squirrel Bait. Squirrel Bait may’ve been rocking out before you were born (circa ’85-’87, in case you were wondering what years existed before you were born), but (visually) excitingly, they were barely outta diapers themselves when they made these tunes, from “Hammering So Hard” and “Sun God” to “Black Light Poster Child and “Too Close To the Fire.”

What were they gonna do? It was the mid 80s, they were young teens in Louisville, punk rock was less than ten years old and hard rock wasn’t much older and was as much fun to play as the punk shit! Nothing else to do but write some songs in the negative, expressing themselves through a refusal of rules perceived in the songs they loved and hated! What else, bookish pre-internet teenagers from the past? How about shying away from angst and transparent confession lyrically, and instead portraying hard-edged, decadent youth scenes in fictive brush-strokes, without glorifying or even explaining what they’re about? Yes, and yes! Then they drowned the songs and lyrics and meanings in a cacaphony of thunderous drums, strangely indistinct guitars, and insistent power changes and choruses. Check, and mate! There’s nothing to do but flip the record and drop the needle again. And now, there’s no asking why – because both the self-titled EP and full-length LP, Skag Heaven, are back in print on the vinyl format for the first time in an internet generation (approximately 5 years)! Available for you, for now, as long as they’re available – so get ‘em from us here, now or go out and grab ‘em at your local brick and mortar, horder!

Buddy & Jim

by Cat Johnson

Two of the heavy-hitters of the roots music world, Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale, have teamed up for a project that blends country, rock, roots and blues. The album resonates with authenticity and warmth and is an audio snapshot of two of the Americana scene’s most admired and influential musicians. The following video offers a glimpse into the recording process, the personalities of Buddy and Jim and their 30+ year friendship. Buddy & Jim is available on both vinyl and CD.

Beatles! Vinyl!

by Cat

You might have heard, but this week, after much waiting and anticipation, the Beatles catalog was reissued on 180 gram vinyl. This is big news for record fans who have had to rely on luck and crate digging to find most of the fab four’s LP’s. We have the individual albums and we have the queen mother of Beatles stereo vinyl: a limited edition box set that contains all the albums as well as a 252-page book.

Here’s a peek:

Further Reading: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Beatles’ Music

Mumford & Sons DVD: The Road to Red Rocks

by Cat

The good news is that Mumford & Sons, the rootsy, folk-rock group that has taken the music world by storm, is releasing a concert film. Titled The Road to Red Rocks, the film chronicles the group’s 2012 Gentlemen of the Road tour that carried the band around the U.S. Word is that it will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and as a special edition book/vinyl audio version. The bad news is that it’s not being released domestically until January 22, 2013. So hurry up and relax Mumford fans. In the meantime, here’s the tracklist:

01. Lovers Eyes
02. Little Lion Man
03. Below My Feet
04. Roll Away Your Stone
05. Lover of the Light
06. Thistle & Weeds
07. Ghost That We Knew
08. Awake My Soul
09. Whispers
10. Dustbowl Dance
11. I Will Wait
12. The Cave

And here’s the trailer:

In the Spotlight: Last Laugh Records

by Raul

One of the best things about the recent vinyl surge, beside supporting your local record store, is that more out of print records are being reissued!

One of my favorite reissue labels is Last Laugh. They pick out some of the best killed by death and powerpop artists and bring them to us with their original artwork and great sound quality; not to mention saving you an arm and a leg, because original issues of these records don’t come cheap!

We love this label so much, we gave them a label card at the end of the punk singles section. Here are a few of my top picks from Last Laugh!!!

Weekly Best Sellers

CDs
01. Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
02. Redd Kross – Researching the Blues
03. Testament – Dark Roots of Earth
04. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
05. Skrillex – Bangarang
06. Norah Jones – Little Broken Hearts
07. Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back
08. Baroness – Yellow & Green
09. Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten
10. Dead Can Dance – Anastasis

RECORDS
01. Redd Kross – Researching the Blues
02. Sublime – Sublime
03. Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago
04. Bad Brains – Bad Brains
05. Nas – Illmatic
06. Bunalim – Bunalim
07. John Mellencamp – No Better Than This
08. Wilco – Whole Love
09. Fun. – Some Nights
10. Ministry – Psalm 69

DVD
01. Marley
02. V for Vendetta
03. Raid: Redemption
04. Rocko’s Modern Life: Season 3
05. Beatles – Yellow Submarine
06. Nirvana – Live at Reading
07. George Harrison – Living in the Material World
08. Muddy Waters & the Rolling Stones – Live at the Checkerboard Lounge
09. Adele – Live at the Royal Albert Hall
10. Cry Baby

BLU-RAY
01. Marley
02. El Topo
03. Star Wars Lego: the Complete Saga
04. Dragonheart
05. Case de Mi Padre
06. Dark Crystal/Labyrinth
07. Workaholics: Seasons 1-2
08. Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion
09. Big Easy Express
10. The Artist

VIDEO GAMES
01. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
02. Silent Hill: Downpour
03. Halo: Combat Evolved
04. Batman: Arkham City
05. Mass Effect 3
06. Game of Thrones
07. Prototype 2
08. Bulletstorm
09. Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
10. Sims 3

Weekly Best Sellers

CDs
01. Testament – Dark Roots of Earth
02. Skrillex – Bangarang
03. Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back
04. Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
05. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Americana
06. Norah Jones – Little Broken Hearts
07. Matisyahu – Spark Seeker
08. Dirty Projectors – Swing Low Magellan
09. Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
10. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange

VINYL
01. Q65 – We’re Gonna Make It
02. Clean – Oddities
03. Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten
04. Scientist – Scientific Dub
05. John Mellencamp – No Better Than This
06. Black Keys – El Camino
07. Love – Da Capo
08. Flaming Lips – Soft Bulletin
09. Sonic Youth – Confusion is Sex
10. King Tuff – King Tuff

DVDs
01. Vanishing Point
02. Workaholics: Season 1-2
03. Fleetwood Mac – Destiny Rules
04. AC/DC – Let There Be Rock
05. Beatles – Yellow Submarine
06. Crosby Stills & Nash – Long Time Comin’
07. Muddy Waters & the Rolling Stones – Live at the Checkerboard Lounge
08. It Might Get Loud
09. Black Flag – Live
10. V for Vendetta

BLU-RAY
01. Workaholics: Season 1-2
02. El Topo
03. Pulp Fiction
04. Barbarella
05. Twins of Evil
06. Harold & Maude
07. Blood Beast Terror
08. Marley
09. Code of Silence
10. Singin’ in the Rain

VIDEO GAMES
01. Batman: Arkham City
02. Dead Space 2
03. Resistance 3
04. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
05. Game of Thrones
06. Gears of War 3
07. Silent Hill: Downpour
08. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
09. Mario Power Tennis
10. Final Fantasy 4: Complete Collection

Weekly Best Sellers

CDs
01. Old Crow Medicine Show – Carry Me Back
02. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
03. Expendables – Gone Soft
04. Bonnie Raitt – Slipstream
05. Aesop Rock – Skelethon
06. Nas – Life is Good
07. Jerry Douglas – Traveler
08. Flaming Lips – Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends
09. Trampled by Turtles – Stars & Satellites
10. Fiona Apple – Idler Wheel

RECORDS
01. Beatles – Abbey Road
02. Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
03. Girls – Lawrence
04. Om – Advaitic Songs
05. Deltron 3030 – Deltron 3030
06. Zombies – Odessey & Oracle
07. Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones
08. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
09. Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
10. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow

DVDs
01. Muddy Waters & the Rolling Stones – Live at the Checkerboard Lounge
02. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
03. The Artist
04. Blood In Blood Out
05. Casa di mi Padre
06. Tom Petty – Live
07. Old Crow Medicine Show – Live at the Orange Peel
08. Rolling Stones – Stones in Exile
09. Grateful Dead – All the Years Combined
10. V for Vendetta

BLU-RAY
01. Chris Isaak – Greatest Hits Live
02. God Bless America
03. The Artist
04. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
05. Mirror Mirror
06. Jimi Hendrix – Plays Berkeley
07. Beatles – Yellow Submarine
08. Harold & Maude
09. Terminator
10. From the Minds of the Coen Brothers (Collection)

VIDEO GAMES
01. Dead Rising 2
02. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom
03. Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
04. Quake 4
05. Final Fantasy 4: Complete Collection
06. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
07. Dirt 3
08. Batman: Arkham City
09. Silent Hill: Downpour
10. Mass Effect 3