Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Bronco Billy Dolan & Primitive Sound System at D.C.'s Tavern Thurs Jan 6th from 9PM to Closing

Hello Y'all,
My best of 2010 is listed below and is in no particular order. If you know me, then you know that at any given time I have 100s of songs that are my, "Favorite song of all time," or "The best song ever!" I also don't buy a lot of new music so to even have more than 10 was a surprise to me. I love bands like Russian Circles, Pelican, Isis, etc, etc but sadly I only picked up the Russian Circles LP this year. Luckily Russian Circles "Geneva" is easily one of my favorites. I love New Funk but unfortunately many of the bands are becoming far too slick and the LPs are filled with ballads, slow songs and weird remix style songs that sound like weak Hip Hop or lousy Acid Jazz. I love Hip Hop and Acid Jazz but these New Funk bands seem to be confused as to why people bought their records in the first place. Weird since the answer is right there in the genres name… FUNK! If I want Hip Hop, Neo-Soul or Acid Jazz I will listen to the bands who do that best. One of the biggest surprises for me this year was the amazing Nick Curran and the Lowlifes "Reform School Girls" CD. If there was EVER a record that deserved a vinyl release it was this one and sadly there is none. Mr. Curran and company also turned in my favorite live performance of the year.

Colemine Records were definitely a stand out in the New Funk genre. Terry Cole could prove to be a genius so let's hope for better and better things from his label. Will Sessions' Funk Night label also put out some incredible sides though not as consistent as Colemine the label could be a force to be reckoned with. I have yet to pick up their first LP but Dead Weather made a big impression on me this year. Someone sent me a video before the first LP came out but it was hard to get a bead on what the LP was going to sound like from the video. They could have easily been a run of the mill side project for Jack White but happily he has rarely ever been run of the mill. Just about a week ago the Syl Johnson "Complete Mythology" box set on Numero Group arrived at my door. If there was ever an artist who was deserved of such an honor it is the hugely talented Syl Johnson. Many years ago Collectable Records had done a Twinight / Twilight compilation CD, it cost just $4.99. I routinely would give it away as a gift and unfortunately I almost always had to explain to people who Syl was. Hopefully that will all change soon and Syl can be discussed in the same breath as James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Lee Dorsey, Dyke and every other Soul / Funk star that has made music not only something that we listen to but move to as well as feel in our hearts and minds.

One of the things that will make you extremely uncomfortable as a musician and a record collector is when friends give you their music. You usually have to be polite and hope the subject never comes up again. On the other hand, sometimes you have to approach a friend and tell them how big a fan you are of their music. Andrew Barker has been a friend for many years and our bands played together quite often through the 90's. I am always in awe of Andrew's drumming and have sought out his recordings time and time again. Years ago, Andrew told me he wanted to play guitar, so in the tradition of Dick Dale and Eddy Van Halen, Andrew turned his sights on a stringed instrument rather than a skin covered one. I was listening to some of Andrew's music on MySpace and stumbled upon his band Hallux. I IMMEDIATELY shot him an email and said PLEASE send me a copy of the LP NOW! I also wanted to get a copy of the LP for a mutual friend who had seen Hallux play live. The LP arrived and not only was the sleeve beautifully done it is on heavy green vinyl. I play the record at full volume every chance I get and there is even a track that sounds great when I DJ.

This year I continued to do artwork for the raw as hell Black Gladiator Records. So far every release has been beyond great but then I expect nothing less from the man known as Bazooka Joe. Black Gladiator is a subsidiary of one of the best Punk / Garage labels ever, Slovenly Recordings and the pairing couldn't be more perfect. In the truest tradition of Punk Rock these labels operate on a shoestring budget but in the end this turns out to be a benefit to me as payment comes by way of LPs and 45s. Slowly I am amassing a complete set of Slovenly Recordings that daily terrorize my turntable.

2010 proved to be one of the best years for me as a collector. I had the opportunity to buy and trade records in places I have never been and some I have been but never to buy records. I have never counted the records in my collection and have always said the day I do I will probably stop collecting because I would be surprised by the final count. I am not going to lie, the number of records I added to the collection this year was very shocking but the price of records had dropped so drastically I was lucky enough to take advantage.

[* I don't normally consider a CD a purchase and you can only imagine my feeling about MP3 downloads. Honestly, is that really collecting? When I was a kid I would "download music from the radio all the time. Then I would buy the recording and support my favorite bands. Hey congratulations MP3 hoarding, vidiot playing dicks. Enjoy all the major label crap floating in the toilet because your friends can no longer support themselves to tour since you keep giving their music away.]

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Syl Johnson - Complete Mythology (Numero Group cat. 032)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way Seven Inch Set (Daptone Records cat. DAP - 021) & Sharon Jones
Cee-Lo - 12" Fuck You (voc, inst)
Vex Ruffin & the Lo-Fi Jerkheads ep (Black Gladiator / Slovenly Recordings cat. 702-94)
The Lo-Fi Jerkheads ep (Black Gladiator / Slovenly Recordings cat. 702-9?)
Tunnel Of Love - "Rockin' Rollin' Bitches" LP (Black Gladiator / Slovenly Recordings cat. 702-93)
Electric Crush - "Dropouts In A Drug Haze" (Black Gladiator / Slovenly Recordings cat. BG 003)
Personal and the Pizzas - "Raw Pie" LP (1-2-3-4 Go! Records cat. GO 0039)
Los Vigilantes - "Mi Mami Dijo" b/w "Que Mal" (Slovenly Recordings cat. 29)
Nick Curran and the Lowlifes - Reform School Girls *
Hallux (Phantom Ear cat. 001)
Russian Circles - "Geneva" (Sargent House / Suicide Squeeze Records cat. SH 030 (Gatefold double vinyl LPs that play at 45RPMs)) (Late 2009)
The Peripheral Enterprise Sound Revue - "Unortodoxy" (Peripheral Enterprises cat. ???) (I believe this was a 20110 release)
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- pat.

Primitive Sound System
VINYL RULES!
"Audio Visual Triumphs and Disasters" - http://primitivesoundsystem.blogspot.com

Thursday January 6th
Bronco Billy Dolan - 9 PM - 11:30 PM
Primitive Sound System -11:30 PM to Closing

D.C.'s Tavern
505 8th Street
Between Jefferson and Madison
BACK IN BACK
Hoboken, New Jersey
PH: 201-792-5550
http://www.dcstavern.com
http://myspace.com/dcstavern

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Some Links:

Slovenly Recordings
http://www.slovenly.com/catalog

Black Gladiator Records
http://www.myspace.com/blackgladiatorkills

Syl Johnson - Complete Mythology
http://www.numerogroup.com/catalog_detail.php?uid=01178

Hallux
http://www.myspace.com/halluxmusic

Cee Lo Green - "Fuck You"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU

Nick Curran and the Lowlifes
CAREFUL the music starts when the site loads - http://www.eclectogroove.com

Personal and the Pizzas
"Brass Knuckles" (video) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrXcApEa6h8

Russian Circles
http://www.russiancircles.net