Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Alice and the Serial Numbers - Chlorophylle* - Obit (Independent)
Bear Mountain - Can't Stand to Lose* - Badu (Last Gang)
NoProfit - Future Test* - Vol. II (No One)
Harrison Brome - Midnight Island* - Fill Your Brains (Nettwerk)
Factory Floor - Slow Listen - 2525 (DFA)
Automatisme - Transport 2* - Momentform Accumulation (Constellation)
HWYS - Further from the Truth* - Beaches (Lisbon Lux)
Crystal Castles - Char* - Amnesty (I) (Last Gang)
Peppermoth - Dusted Wings* - Now You Hear Me (Big Mind)
Buscemi - Praja Boogie - Camino Real (EMI)
Laika - Red River - Silver Apples of the Moon (Too Pure)
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Werid World of Old Records #4: Mohammed Rafi - "Jaan Pehechaan Ho"
When American style music jumps continents, weird things happen to it. Cultural references get lost or misinterpreted. One need only look at Japan and Korea to see the weird things that happened to American pop there (PSY being just one example).
This month's Weird World of Old Records is less about a record, and more about Bollywood. From North American eyes, Bollywood films have some of the trappings of what we know as movies, but it soon gets warped into a surreal direction. Actors break into song without an inkling they will. Dance numbers appear out of nowhere. Strange video filters are used. It's a fun trip, but often a disorienting one.
I was first exposed to Bollywood music, ironically, through an American cult film, Ghost World. Being a fan of Daniel Clowes, I saw Ghost World when it first hit theatres in 2001. This film opens with the dance sequence from a 1965 Indian film called Gumnaam. I've never seen the original film, so I don't have a context for the film, but I understand what Ghost World is about. I do know Gumnaam is a murder mystery, so it's even more strange that there's a huge rock and roll dance sequence in the film.
Ghost World follows Enid and Rebecca graduating from high school and trying to figure out what to do with their lives. They want to move into an apartment together, but only Rebecca strives to find a job to pay for it. Enid and Rebecca are both outsiders in their high school, and Enid takes this to an extreme after high-school, struggling to find a place in the world, and not fitting in anywhere she goes. Instead, she goes around annoying other people, eventually answering a personal ad, where she meets Seymour, a reclusive vintage record collector. By the time the movie ends, Enid has pretty much destroyed the life of everyone around her. Enid eventually leaves town on a bus, heading for somewhere unknown.
The opening sequence from the film finds Enid (played by Thora Birch, whom I've had a crush on since I first saw Ghost World) dancing around her room to the dance sequence from Gumnaam, featuring the song "Jaan Pehechaan Ho", sung by Mohammed Rafi. Rafi, incidentally, is not the singer in the film. That band is called Ted Lyons and His Cubs, who have been featured in several classic Bollywood films. The dance sequence features dancer Laxmi Chhaya, jerking around in a strange dance, reminiscent of 60s American dances, but filtered through the funhouse mirror of Bollywood. It has the trappings of what we'd know as 60s America, with the music and costumes, but none of the cultural touchstones. Instead, it becomes a surreal, psychedelic landscape, sung in a strange and alien language. Like Ghost World, this is a strange and absurd lens looking through at something that's almost familiar, but ultimately alien.
Dan Clowes discovered this song through Peter Holsapple, of the legendary 80s indy rock band, the dBs. The song was also used in a 2011 ad for Heineken.
After learning about this song, I also learned about the Sublime Frequencies record label, which specialized in oddball and archival releases of worldbeat music like this. "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" also appears on their compilation Bollywood Steel Guitar, where is takes another bizarre twist, Van Shipley covers the song on the compilation. For some reason, in Bollywood, steel guitar is used for easy listening songs. So, this instrumental cover comes of like a weird spaghetti western version set in India.
Yes, I do love music like this. Music taken out of a familiar context, twisted through some bizarre genre and culture bending, and coming out the other side looking like nothing we'd every think we'd ever see.
This month's Weird World of Old Records is less about a record, and more about Bollywood. From North American eyes, Bollywood films have some of the trappings of what we know as movies, but it soon gets warped into a surreal direction. Actors break into song without an inkling they will. Dance numbers appear out of nowhere. Strange video filters are used. It's a fun trip, but often a disorienting one.
I was first exposed to Bollywood music, ironically, through an American cult film, Ghost World. Being a fan of Daniel Clowes, I saw Ghost World when it first hit theatres in 2001. This film opens with the dance sequence from a 1965 Indian film called Gumnaam. I've never seen the original film, so I don't have a context for the film, but I understand what Ghost World is about. I do know Gumnaam is a murder mystery, so it's even more strange that there's a huge rock and roll dance sequence in the film.
Ghost World follows Enid and Rebecca graduating from high school and trying to figure out what to do with their lives. They want to move into an apartment together, but only Rebecca strives to find a job to pay for it. Enid and Rebecca are both outsiders in their high school, and Enid takes this to an extreme after high-school, struggling to find a place in the world, and not fitting in anywhere she goes. Instead, she goes around annoying other people, eventually answering a personal ad, where she meets Seymour, a reclusive vintage record collector. By the time the movie ends, Enid has pretty much destroyed the life of everyone around her. Enid eventually leaves town on a bus, heading for somewhere unknown.
The opening sequence from the film finds Enid (played by Thora Birch, whom I've had a crush on since I first saw Ghost World) dancing around her room to the dance sequence from Gumnaam, featuring the song "Jaan Pehechaan Ho", sung by Mohammed Rafi. Rafi, incidentally, is not the singer in the film. That band is called Ted Lyons and His Cubs, who have been featured in several classic Bollywood films. The dance sequence features dancer Laxmi Chhaya, jerking around in a strange dance, reminiscent of 60s American dances, but filtered through the funhouse mirror of Bollywood. It has the trappings of what we'd know as 60s America, with the music and costumes, but none of the cultural touchstones. Instead, it becomes a surreal, psychedelic landscape, sung in a strange and alien language. Like Ghost World, this is a strange and absurd lens looking through at something that's almost familiar, but ultimately alien.
Dan Clowes discovered this song through Peter Holsapple, of the legendary 80s indy rock band, the dBs. The song was also used in a 2011 ad for Heineken.
After learning about this song, I also learned about the Sublime Frequencies record label, which specialized in oddball and archival releases of worldbeat music like this. "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" also appears on their compilation Bollywood Steel Guitar, where is takes another bizarre twist, Van Shipley covers the song on the compilation. For some reason, in Bollywood, steel guitar is used for easy listening songs. So, this instrumental cover comes of like a weird spaghetti western version set in India.
Yes, I do love music like this. Music taken out of a familiar context, twisted through some bizarre genre and culture bending, and coming out the other side looking like nothing we'd every think we'd ever see.
Monday, October 24, 2016
RIP Pete Burns
So many people have said to me, "I can't wait for 2016 to be over". I gotta agree. It's been a pretty shitty year, not only from a personal standpoint, but from a musical standpoint. We've lost so many giants this year, from David Bowie and Prince, to many smaller but no less loved people, like Peter Burns today.
A lot of people dismiss Dead or Alive as a one hit wonder. They're best known for their wonderfully campy and poppy "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a staple of 80s dance parties and wedding receptions since 1985. Dead or Alive were pioneers in bringing goth to a more commercial and mainstream audience. Their music was poppy but dark. Their 1985 record, Youthquake, was a huge seller worldwide.
Dead or Alive took their goth leanings seriously early on in their career, turning more poppy as their career went on. In a lot of ways, Pete Burns was a poor-man's Boy George, having the androgynous look of Boy George, but not the presence or the pop chops that Boy George did. Though, after Dead or Alive broke up in 2000, Burns became a huge advocate for fluid sexuality, in ways that Boy George never did.
Burns claimed he wasn't gay, bi or any other type of named sexuality, claiming his type of sexuality "hadn't been invented yet". He also had many plastic surgeries, giving him an almost freakish look.
Burns also had a mildly successful solo career in the 2000s, with his most successful single being "Jack and Jill Party" in 2005.
My personal favourite Dead or Alive track is "Brand New Lover" from 1986's Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know.
Burns died at the age of 57 from a sudden cardiac arrest.
A lot of people dismiss Dead or Alive as a one hit wonder. They're best known for their wonderfully campy and poppy "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a staple of 80s dance parties and wedding receptions since 1985. Dead or Alive were pioneers in bringing goth to a more commercial and mainstream audience. Their music was poppy but dark. Their 1985 record, Youthquake, was a huge seller worldwide.
Dead or Alive took their goth leanings seriously early on in their career, turning more poppy as their career went on. In a lot of ways, Pete Burns was a poor-man's Boy George, having the androgynous look of Boy George, but not the presence or the pop chops that Boy George did. Though, after Dead or Alive broke up in 2000, Burns became a huge advocate for fluid sexuality, in ways that Boy George never did.
Burns claimed he wasn't gay, bi or any other type of named sexuality, claiming his type of sexuality "hadn't been invented yet". He also had many plastic surgeries, giving him an almost freakish look.
Burns also had a mildly successful solo career in the 2000s, with his most successful single being "Jack and Jill Party" in 2005.
My personal favourite Dead or Alive track is "Brand New Lover" from 1986's Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know.
Burns died at the age of 57 from a sudden cardiac arrest.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Covers Courageous #10: Brad Mehldau - She's Leaving Home
It's a bit of a cliche, but jazz musicians seem to love the Beatles. For some reason, McCartney/Lennon songs seem to be able to easily jump the gap between pop music and jazz. Not only have jazz vocalists taken on Beatles tunes in a jazz setting, but many instrumental artists have arranged Beatles tunes to jazz orchestration, and even into sprawling avant-garde styles.
Brad Mehldau is a legendary jazz pianist, arranger and composer in more modern styles of jazz. His first recording came in 1991, and he has since become a very well known and critically acclaimed performer. His own style merges modern jazz forms with contemporary styles and avant-garde leanings. Not only did he record "She's Leaving Home" for his 2005 Nonesuch album Day is Done, he's also tackled other Beatles fare like "Blackbird", "Mother Nature's Son" and "Martha My Dear"
"She's Leaving Home" is one of the saddest songs in the Beatles repertoire. It's a heartbreaking song about a daughter leaving her parents suddenly, running away in the wee hours of the morning. She leaves a short note, trying to explain why she had to leave, while her parents struggle to understand why she left. The instrumental treatment that Mehldau gives the song evokes the memory of the lyrics of the song while not explicitly singing them. Instead, it's like a distant, dreamlike memory of a song, the sadness coming along with the minimalist, half-remembered melody he weaves. Mehldau's improvisation strings the track along past the 3 minute length of the original song, prolonging the desperate sadness of the song to unbearable levels.
While it is cliche to see a jazz Beatles cover, Mehldau is able to leap past the cliche of a jazz musician grasping at popular music to be relevant, and turns it into something uniquely his.
Brad Mehldau is a legendary jazz pianist, arranger and composer in more modern styles of jazz. His first recording came in 1991, and he has since become a very well known and critically acclaimed performer. His own style merges modern jazz forms with contemporary styles and avant-garde leanings. Not only did he record "She's Leaving Home" for his 2005 Nonesuch album Day is Done, he's also tackled other Beatles fare like "Blackbird", "Mother Nature's Son" and "Martha My Dear"
"She's Leaving Home" is one of the saddest songs in the Beatles repertoire. It's a heartbreaking song about a daughter leaving her parents suddenly, running away in the wee hours of the morning. She leaves a short note, trying to explain why she had to leave, while her parents struggle to understand why she left. The instrumental treatment that Mehldau gives the song evokes the memory of the lyrics of the song while not explicitly singing them. Instead, it's like a distant, dreamlike memory of a song, the sadness coming along with the minimalist, half-remembered melody he weaves. Mehldau's improvisation strings the track along past the 3 minute length of the original song, prolonging the desperate sadness of the song to unbearable levels.
While it is cliche to see a jazz Beatles cover, Mehldau is able to leap past the cliche of a jazz musician grasping at popular music to be relevant, and turns it into something uniquely his.
Monday, October 17, 2016
DNTTA Playlist for October 14, 2016
Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Videotape - Beaches* - My Favourite Thing (Independent)
Jojo Worthington - Mid Youth Crisis* - Two Lines (Epoch Tapes)
Charlotte Day Wilson - Work* - CDW (Independent)
L CON - Without Colours* - Moon Milk (Independent)
Minor Victories - A Hundred Ropes - Minor Victories (Fat Possum)
Sex with Strangers - Gift of Fear* - Disclosure (Northern Light)
Bob Mould - Losing Sleep - Crack the Sky (Merge)
Fuad and the Feztones - Soul Camel* - Beeramid (Ricochet Sound)
The Goatbox Rebels - Open Ocean* - Let's All Bleed Integrity (Independent)
Latcho Drom - Knapweed* - Don't Measure, Cut Yourself (Independent)
Owlface - Colour Bars* - In Spiral Sleep EP (Independent)
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Videotape - Beaches* - My Favourite Thing (Independent)
Jojo Worthington - Mid Youth Crisis* - Two Lines (Epoch Tapes)
Charlotte Day Wilson - Work* - CDW (Independent)
L CON - Without Colours* - Moon Milk (Independent)
Minor Victories - A Hundred Ropes - Minor Victories (Fat Possum)
Sex with Strangers - Gift of Fear* - Disclosure (Northern Light)
Bob Mould - Losing Sleep - Crack the Sky (Merge)
Fuad and the Feztones - Soul Camel* - Beeramid (Ricochet Sound)
The Goatbox Rebels - Open Ocean* - Let's All Bleed Integrity (Independent)
Latcho Drom - Knapweed* - Don't Measure, Cut Yourself (Independent)
Owlface - Colour Bars* - In Spiral Sleep EP (Independent)
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Canadian indy band round up - October 2016
Time for another Canadian indy band roundup. Three new bands you need to check out
Wishkicker
Wishkicker is Vancouver's new biggest buzz band. They just appeared on the cover of Discorder and Beatroute this past month. Their first EP is out, called Wider Vision. They've got a melodic dreampop/post punk vibe to them. These guys should be huge in a couple of years if they can stay together.
Trampoline
A new band from Winnipeg, they have just released a 4 song EP called Sometimes a Song is Just a Cigar. They have a weirdo indy rock/new wave vibe very similar to Deerhoof or Xiu Xiu
Lesbo Vrouven
Montreal's Lesbo Vrouven aren't exactly a new band, they've been around since 2008. They might not be well known out of Quebec due to their tendency to sing in both French and gibberish. Their latest album is called Grifff Pifff and is out on the P572 Records label, home to many bizarre French new wave and punk bands.
Wishkicker
Wishkicker is Vancouver's new biggest buzz band. They just appeared on the cover of Discorder and Beatroute this past month. Their first EP is out, called Wider Vision. They've got a melodic dreampop/post punk vibe to them. These guys should be huge in a couple of years if they can stay together.
Trampoline
A new band from Winnipeg, they have just released a 4 song EP called Sometimes a Song is Just a Cigar. They have a weirdo indy rock/new wave vibe very similar to Deerhoof or Xiu Xiu
Lesbo Vrouven
Montreal's Lesbo Vrouven aren't exactly a new band, they've been around since 2008. They might not be well known out of Quebec due to their tendency to sing in both French and gibberish. Their latest album is called Grifff Pifff and is out on the P572 Records label, home to many bizarre French new wave and punk bands.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
DNTTA Playlist for October 7, 2016
Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
IDALG - Queztalcoatl* - Post-Dynastie (Independent)
Hot Panda - Golden Arch* - Bad Pop (Bandwagon)
JPNSGRLS - 2009* - Divorce (Light Organ)
Pony Girl - Adultery* - Foreign Life (Independent)
The Fluid - Is it Day I'm Seeing? - Sub Pop 200 (Sub Pop)
Love Battery - Brazil - Straight Freak Ticket (Atlas)
Tad - Throat Locust - Inhaler (Giant)
Lucid 44 - I Will Find You* - Black//Veins (Bart)
Communism - One of Everybody* - Get Down Get Together (Independent)
The Peptides - Attack of the Treadmill* - EP (Bart)
Twist - Bleached* - Spectral (Buzz)
Red Arms - In Frauds We Trust* - Let Every Nation Know (Yeah Right!)
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
IDALG - Queztalcoatl* - Post-Dynastie (Independent)
Hot Panda - Golden Arch* - Bad Pop (Bandwagon)
JPNSGRLS - 2009* - Divorce (Light Organ)
Pony Girl - Adultery* - Foreign Life (Independent)
The Fluid - Is it Day I'm Seeing? - Sub Pop 200 (Sub Pop)
Love Battery - Brazil - Straight Freak Ticket (Atlas)
Tad - Throat Locust - Inhaler (Giant)
Lucid 44 - I Will Find You* - Black//Veins (Bart)
Communism - One of Everybody* - Get Down Get Together (Independent)
The Peptides - Attack of the Treadmill* - EP (Bart)
Twist - Bleached* - Spectral (Buzz)
Red Arms - In Frauds We Trust* - Let Every Nation Know (Yeah Right!)
Monday, October 10, 2016
DNTTA Playlist for September 29, 2016
Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Mocky - When Paulie Gets Mad* - Keychange (Independent)
Jason Sharp - A Boat Upon Its Blood Part 3* - A Boat Upon Its Blood (Constellation)
Off World - Extraction* - 1 (Constellation)
Golfam Khayam/Mona Matbou Riahi - Parlando - Narrante (ECM)
Wolfert Brederode Trio - Olive Tree - Black Ice (ECM)
Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord - Period - Play All of the Chords (Hot Cup)
My Son the Hurricane - Roll with the Punches* - Is This What You Want? (Independent)
BHZ - Flaming Radio - Total Harmonic Distortion (Innova)
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol and Whatisnext? - Love Theme from Ergenekon - Resolution (Dunya)
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Mocky - When Paulie Gets Mad* - Keychange (Independent)
Jason Sharp - A Boat Upon Its Blood Part 3* - A Boat Upon Its Blood (Constellation)
Off World - Extraction* - 1 (Constellation)
Golfam Khayam/Mona Matbou Riahi - Parlando - Narrante (ECM)
Wolfert Brederode Trio - Olive Tree - Black Ice (ECM)
Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord - Period - Play All of the Chords (Hot Cup)
My Son the Hurricane - Roll with the Punches* - Is This What You Want? (Independent)
BHZ - Flaming Radio - Total Harmonic Distortion (Innova)
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol and Whatisnext? - Love Theme from Ergenekon - Resolution (Dunya)
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Video Playlist #9: Ghosts!
In celebration of Hallowe'en, here's a bunch of bands with Ghost in their names! (and lots of them Canadian too!)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0QOmyo1JgZds_68TqVJRK397DM5YE2XK
1) Ghost - Square Hammer
2) Cellarghost* - Jackals
3) Ghostkeeper* - Haunted
4) Extra Happy Ghost!!!* - Mercy Mercy
5) Ghostface Killah - One
6) Frozen Ghost* - Should I See
7) Reign Ghost - Long Day Journey
8) Give Up the Ghost - We Killed It
9) The Ghost is Dancing* - This Thunder
10) Ghost Bees* - Tasseomancy
11) Jukebox the Ghost - Hollywood
12) Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger - Comic Strip
13) I am Ghost - Saddest Story Never Told
14) Ghosttwin* - Mystic Sabbath
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0QOmyo1JgZds_68TqVJRK397DM5YE2XK
1) Ghost - Square Hammer
2) Cellarghost* - Jackals
3) Ghostkeeper* - Haunted
4) Extra Happy Ghost!!!* - Mercy Mercy
5) Ghostface Killah - One
6) Frozen Ghost* - Should I See
7) Reign Ghost - Long Day Journey
8) Give Up the Ghost - We Killed It
9) The Ghost is Dancing* - This Thunder
10) Ghost Bees* - Tasseomancy
11) Jukebox the Ghost - Hollywood
12) Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger - Comic Strip
13) I am Ghost - Saddest Story Never Told
14) Ghosttwin* - Mystic Sabbath
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
The changing face of record shopping in Vancouver
I just got back from another trip to Vancouver, and, as usual, I got in some record shopping. Things are changing in Vancouver for record shopping. While I was only there one day, I can see that things are shifting quite a bit.
First, tangentally, about driving in Vancouver...
I've been driving in Vancouver for a few years now (a couple of days a year) and, sadly, I think I'm getting used to it. Yes, there's strangely aggressive drivers everywhere, swerving in and out of lanes, failing to signal, blatantly running through red lights or exploiting yellow lights. That's par for the course in Vancouver.
Trying to find shortcuts through the city has become futile and I've mostly given up on it. I used to try to find easier ways through the city by avoiding the main, busy routes and going one street over into residential areas. The traffic would be non-existant and driving would be slow, due to roundabouts, but it was a lot less stressful than trying to drive down Main or Knight or whatever main street. I've found you can only get a few blocks doing this, before a street becomes blocked off by a bike-only path, a park, or some other obstacle, forcing you to go back to a main road. Likely, this is deliberate, to force drivers to main arteries, or, in my case, make them not want to drive at all! If I have a choice, I'll park my car from now on and take the Skytrain.
Highway driving is getting easier too. The only stretch I hate is the part from Abbotsford to Vancouver. It's almost always slow going and, often, forced down to a crawl or even a stop due to heavy traffic. In the future, I'm going to get off on Abbotsford, head north on Highway 11 to Mission, then take Highway 7 into Vancouver. It takes a bit longer, but it's more relaxing and the scenery is nicer too.
Parking is easily the most annoying part of driving in Vancouver. Parking is expensive, and almost non-existent in places. Often, you have to park a couple of blocks away, and even then, you need to watch the parking signs, since a lot of places need a permit to park there. It's easy to rack up a hundred bucks in fines if you aren't watching what you're doing. And I suck at parking, so it's even harder for me. I don't mind the walks though. I like parking on Victoria, then walking over to Commercial Drive for walking and shopping.
On to record shopping.
Zulu Record is fast becoming a place to avoid. Since I was last there, they've sold off the upper half of the store to a trendy clothing shop. The store itself used to have a thriving and vibrant local section for music, now it's just a couple of rows in the shop. Used music is still the name of the game there, though most of it is vinyl now. A few years ago, they decided to let vinyl take over most of the shop. The upstairs part still has dirt cheap CDs, which is a great reason go there, even if the selection has been picked through, there's still thousands of albums for a buck or two there. I think it's downfall has two factors. First is the neighbourhood. Kitsilano is an prime example of gentrification. A previously fairly affordable place to live slowly turned into a trendy place to live, in turn, jacking up the prices on everything from housing to food, and changing all the local shops into trendy hipster joints. In one stretch of road, I counted four specialty tea shops right next to each other. Simply put, it's a tourist trap since only the rich can afford to live there. And tourists aren't looking for used vinyl, I suspect. Second is Red Cat Records, next on my trip, which seems to now be handling the lion's share of live ticket sales, which used to be one of Zulu's main sources of income. Their ticket wall seemed anemic to me, compared to other times I was there.
Red Cat Records on Main is the best place to go to find new music. Their local section is usually brimming with new material. They have a tape section of new stuff. All the biggest indy bands are represented on the new wall. Their vinyl selection is healthy, same with the CD selection. I buy most of my new music there. I found the new Factory Floor, Preoccupations and Pixies album there, but they didn't have the new Thermals or Tacocat, which I was really hoping to buy. I got the new Light in the Attick reissue of the Shaggs "History of the World" finally. Yes, I finally own a copy of one of the albums that is a contender for "Worst Album Ever Made". Red Cat is doing great in live ticket sales too. They just opened a second location near East Hastings and Nanaimo. I checked that location out too. It's very new, so it's small and clean, and pretty empty of customers so far. I bought an Evaporators album there and chatted with the clerk about how the cover of the album is an homage to a classic Subhumans album. This is the best record store in town right now.
Neptoon on Main still is a great niche record store. Basically, if you're looking for an album in rock, classic rock, blues or jazz, Neptoon is likely to have it on vinyl or on CD. Indy music and the obscure is much rarer here. I went in for the first time in years looking for some of their recent Vancouver band releases on CD, but they mostly had them on vinyl. I picked up a sweet Dave Edmunds collection there.
Lastly on my trip was my favourite record store, Audiopile on Commercial Drive. I'm constantly amazed by the sheer variety of music in Audiopile, and the excellent prices. Routinely, I'll walk out with 15-20 albums I know I'll love for like $50. Their vinyl collection is nice too, but I rarely dig into the vaults. As with any serious record buying and collecting, digging through the stacks is vital, and Audiopile always has interesting finds, obscure ones too.
For the first time, I also got to go to the Vancouver Flea Market on 1st. I always saw it on my Skytrain ride into Science World, but never got to stop there. It was fascinating just for looking. If I had the time, I would have loved to dig through the vinyl crates and through the vintage comics. I bought a couple of albums there, but just looking around at the constant weird stuff, from wax cylinder players to iPhone cases to bizarre old dolls. If you were into something, chances are someone had a table there that catered to your interests.
Of course, thrift store shopping is always worthwhile in Vancouver. From small thrift shops to places like Value Village and the Salvation Army, you're always bound to find something. If you have time, always crate dig in thrift shops, no matter where you are. Every time I dig through vinyl boxes, I'll find the usual thrift store stuff like Slim Whitman or 101 Strings. But there's always an intriguing album like a banjo player from Swift Current, or a choral album of 60s pop hits. Something like that. One day, I hope to have the space and the money to start buying these strange bits of musical history that just scream "weird".
There's a lot more record shopping to do in Vancouver. I still have to get back to places like Scratch Records, Dandelion Records, Vinyl Records, Highlife, Stylus and Sikora's, amongst others, so there's more research to do!
First, tangentally, about driving in Vancouver...
I've been driving in Vancouver for a few years now (a couple of days a year) and, sadly, I think I'm getting used to it. Yes, there's strangely aggressive drivers everywhere, swerving in and out of lanes, failing to signal, blatantly running through red lights or exploiting yellow lights. That's par for the course in Vancouver.
Trying to find shortcuts through the city has become futile and I've mostly given up on it. I used to try to find easier ways through the city by avoiding the main, busy routes and going one street over into residential areas. The traffic would be non-existant and driving would be slow, due to roundabouts, but it was a lot less stressful than trying to drive down Main or Knight or whatever main street. I've found you can only get a few blocks doing this, before a street becomes blocked off by a bike-only path, a park, or some other obstacle, forcing you to go back to a main road. Likely, this is deliberate, to force drivers to main arteries, or, in my case, make them not want to drive at all! If I have a choice, I'll park my car from now on and take the Skytrain.
Highway driving is getting easier too. The only stretch I hate is the part from Abbotsford to Vancouver. It's almost always slow going and, often, forced down to a crawl or even a stop due to heavy traffic. In the future, I'm going to get off on Abbotsford, head north on Highway 11 to Mission, then take Highway 7 into Vancouver. It takes a bit longer, but it's more relaxing and the scenery is nicer too.
Parking is easily the most annoying part of driving in Vancouver. Parking is expensive, and almost non-existent in places. Often, you have to park a couple of blocks away, and even then, you need to watch the parking signs, since a lot of places need a permit to park there. It's easy to rack up a hundred bucks in fines if you aren't watching what you're doing. And I suck at parking, so it's even harder for me. I don't mind the walks though. I like parking on Victoria, then walking over to Commercial Drive for walking and shopping.
On to record shopping.
Zulu Record is fast becoming a place to avoid. Since I was last there, they've sold off the upper half of the store to a trendy clothing shop. The store itself used to have a thriving and vibrant local section for music, now it's just a couple of rows in the shop. Used music is still the name of the game there, though most of it is vinyl now. A few years ago, they decided to let vinyl take over most of the shop. The upstairs part still has dirt cheap CDs, which is a great reason go there, even if the selection has been picked through, there's still thousands of albums for a buck or two there. I think it's downfall has two factors. First is the neighbourhood. Kitsilano is an prime example of gentrification. A previously fairly affordable place to live slowly turned into a trendy place to live, in turn, jacking up the prices on everything from housing to food, and changing all the local shops into trendy hipster joints. In one stretch of road, I counted four specialty tea shops right next to each other. Simply put, it's a tourist trap since only the rich can afford to live there. And tourists aren't looking for used vinyl, I suspect. Second is Red Cat Records, next on my trip, which seems to now be handling the lion's share of live ticket sales, which used to be one of Zulu's main sources of income. Their ticket wall seemed anemic to me, compared to other times I was there.
Red Cat Records on Main is the best place to go to find new music. Their local section is usually brimming with new material. They have a tape section of new stuff. All the biggest indy bands are represented on the new wall. Their vinyl selection is healthy, same with the CD selection. I buy most of my new music there. I found the new Factory Floor, Preoccupations and Pixies album there, but they didn't have the new Thermals or Tacocat, which I was really hoping to buy. I got the new Light in the Attick reissue of the Shaggs "History of the World" finally. Yes, I finally own a copy of one of the albums that is a contender for "Worst Album Ever Made". Red Cat is doing great in live ticket sales too. They just opened a second location near East Hastings and Nanaimo. I checked that location out too. It's very new, so it's small and clean, and pretty empty of customers so far. I bought an Evaporators album there and chatted with the clerk about how the cover of the album is an homage to a classic Subhumans album. This is the best record store in town right now.
Neptoon on Main still is a great niche record store. Basically, if you're looking for an album in rock, classic rock, blues or jazz, Neptoon is likely to have it on vinyl or on CD. Indy music and the obscure is much rarer here. I went in for the first time in years looking for some of their recent Vancouver band releases on CD, but they mostly had them on vinyl. I picked up a sweet Dave Edmunds collection there.
Lastly on my trip was my favourite record store, Audiopile on Commercial Drive. I'm constantly amazed by the sheer variety of music in Audiopile, and the excellent prices. Routinely, I'll walk out with 15-20 albums I know I'll love for like $50. Their vinyl collection is nice too, but I rarely dig into the vaults. As with any serious record buying and collecting, digging through the stacks is vital, and Audiopile always has interesting finds, obscure ones too.
For the first time, I also got to go to the Vancouver Flea Market on 1st. I always saw it on my Skytrain ride into Science World, but never got to stop there. It was fascinating just for looking. If I had the time, I would have loved to dig through the vinyl crates and through the vintage comics. I bought a couple of albums there, but just looking around at the constant weird stuff, from wax cylinder players to iPhone cases to bizarre old dolls. If you were into something, chances are someone had a table there that catered to your interests.
Of course, thrift store shopping is always worthwhile in Vancouver. From small thrift shops to places like Value Village and the Salvation Army, you're always bound to find something. If you have time, always crate dig in thrift shops, no matter where you are. Every time I dig through vinyl boxes, I'll find the usual thrift store stuff like Slim Whitman or 101 Strings. But there's always an intriguing album like a banjo player from Swift Current, or a choral album of 60s pop hits. Something like that. One day, I hope to have the space and the money to start buying these strange bits of musical history that just scream "weird".
There's a lot more record shopping to do in Vancouver. I still have to get back to places like Scratch Records, Dandelion Records, Vinyl Records, Highlife, Stylus and Sikora's, amongst others, so there's more research to do!
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
DNTTA Playlist for September 23, 2016
Artist - Song - Album (Label) * indicates Canadian Content
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
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Ghosttwin - The Vulture* - Here We Are in the Night (Independent)
Valiska - Suspension* - Healer (Bow Bottom)
Purveyors of Free Will - In the Valley of the Mesmer King* - Bridge to Here (Baffled Octopi)
Air - Cherry Blossom Girl - Twentyears (Parlophone)
The Avalanches - Subways - Wildflowers (Modular)
MSTRKRFT - Little Red Hen* - Operator (Last Gang)
Drop the Lime - Unfold - Shot Shot Hearts (Tigerbeat6)
Jaunt - Comfortable* - Chat (Independent)
The Submissives - Forces* - Do You Really Love Me? (Fixture)
Natasha Lepine - Wells* - Awkward (Independent)
Bliss Club - Breeze Punk 2* - Bliss Club (Independent)
An Ant and an Atom - Entropy (excerpt)* - Entropy (Independent)
Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca
--
Ghosttwin - The Vulture* - Here We Are in the Night (Independent)
Valiska - Suspension* - Healer (Bow Bottom)
Purveyors of Free Will - In the Valley of the Mesmer King* - Bridge to Here (Baffled Octopi)
Air - Cherry Blossom Girl - Twentyears (Parlophone)
The Avalanches - Subways - Wildflowers (Modular)
MSTRKRFT - Little Red Hen* - Operator (Last Gang)
Drop the Lime - Unfold - Shot Shot Hearts (Tigerbeat6)
Jaunt - Comfortable* - Chat (Independent)
The Submissives - Forces* - Do You Really Love Me? (Fixture)
Natasha Lepine - Wells* - Awkward (Independent)
Bliss Club - Breeze Punk 2* - Bliss Club (Independent)
An Ant and an Atom - Entropy (excerpt)* - Entropy (Independent)
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