Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes

fantastic article, well worth the read! it's why we love our vinyl so smuch, they get it!

Record Store Owners Talk About Vinyl Love & Why Record Store Day Has Changed Music

Nadia Noir

“I get by because of the people who make a special effort to shop here – mostly young men – who spend all their time looking for deleted Smith singles and original, not re-released – underlined – Frank Zappa albums…I’d feel guilty taking their money, if I wasn’t… well… kinda one of them,” sarcastically jokes John Cusack’s character, Rob, in the movie High Fidelity. A movie that symbolically uses an independent record store as a life metaphor; an allusion so perfectly suited to the concept of Record Store Day, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary on April 21, 2012.

Record Store Day is an annual event celebrated around the world that brings together independently-owned record stores, artists, and audiophiles with in-store performances, extremely exclusive vinyl and CD releases, and a reclamation of that sense of community once cherished by music lovers who spent hours in their favorite store listening to albums.

With the resurgence of record appreciation, it seems that many music fans are looking for a more tangible representation of their sonic obsessions; vinyl, an artistic medium that generations of music lovers can share together and something different from the instant gratification of digital music. “I think that it’s a revolution to the digital revolution,” said Matt Vaughn, owner of Easy Street Records in Seattle.

Read the rest at kroq.radio.com

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more great vinyl news, this from the uk:

Vinyl making a comeback as sales figures grow

Robin Turner, WalesOnline

The hiss and crackle of vinyl records are making a big comeback in Wales as music lovers buy the old fashioned discs in increasing numbers. High street music and video giant HMV has just refitted its stores in Swansea and Cardiff to accommodate vinyl seven-inch and LP records to keep up with the trend. And the Welsh stores are also selling retro-style record players on which a new generation of music purists are listening once again to sounds coming through grooves on big, spinning discs.

Vinyl was king in the 20th Century when it came to commercial music distribution but the downloading, digital age saw an end to all that. Until now.

Read the rest at walesonline.co.uk

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heck, rolling stone is touting Record Store Day

Record Store Day Preview: Feist, Mastodon, Flaming Lips and More Offer Exclusive Releases

Artists embrace celebration of independent retailers with one-day-only limited editions on April 21st

By Dan Hyman

Over the past two decades, with consumers increasingly choosing to purchase their music via digital outlets, countless independent records stores across the globe have been forced to throw up their shutters. Leslie Feist however, has a plan to stop this chain of events. "I'll wear armor and hold up a sword and stand out front of the independent record shops and just protect them," the Canadian singer/songwriter, 36, tells Rolling Stone.

Feist is hardly alone in her passion for independent record stores. Since the inception of Record Store Day in 2007, artists of all genres and backgrounds, from Paul McCartney to Wilco, and Phish to Pearl Jam, have helped contribute to the event – an international holiday that encourages music fans to visit their local brick-and-mortar music retailer – by dropping limited-edition, one-day-only releases made available exclusively at independent retailers.

Visit Rolling Stone to read the article

What To Do With 960 Vinyl Records:

London-based directorial duo Us have released a promo video for dubstep producer Benga's latest single called "I will never change."

It says that each record was individually cut, labeled, and polished over seven working days to prepare for the video shoot. The production team then built the final sculpture, before removing each record one by one to create the animation (the process is reversed in the video).

 

Godsmack To Release Live Album

press release

GODSMACK Unveil "Live & Inspired" May 15, 2012 Mass Chaos Tour With Staind Kicks Off April 13, 2012 NEW YORK, Apr 10, 2012

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-nominated hard rock juggernaut GODSMACK will unleash its first-ever live album, Live & Inspired [Universal Republic Records], on May 15, 2012. Live & Inspired features fierce and furious live renditions of numerous hits from the Massachusetts rockers' five studio albums. Their incendiary and infectious shows have become legendary in modern rock, and they continue to impress both critics and audiences alike every time they hit the stage. The group sounds unchained on rousing performances of "Awake", "Keep Away", "Straight Out of Line", "Whatever", "Voodoo", and "I Stand Alone." This is the first time that's been captured on CD, and bonus tracks of covers that have "inspired"

GODSMACK is also going to be included along with it. The four tracks are quite close to the band's collective heart. The band started ripping through local Massachusetts haunts with their renditions of some of these songs, and these recordings bring everything full circle. About the collection, frontman Sully Erna reveals, "Live & Inspired is our way of saying 'Thank you' to all of our fans for believing in us throughout the years, and helping us to become a great live band! Along with this ass-whooping set live from Detroit Rock City, we've also included four cover songs of our favorite hits in the past to show you that, we too, are simply just fans that appreciate nothing more than good old fashion ass-kicking rock 'n' roll! Enjoy!" In addition, the quartet encouraged its legion of supporters to be a part of the release. The collection's packaging actually showcases a variety of fan photos. Fans may submit live snapshots of the group on stage, pictures of themselves rocking out at GODSMACK concerts, or photos of their tattoos of the group's iconic logo on the band's official Facebook. Now, the winning photos adorn the album's booklet and packaging. The album will hit shelves and digital retailers while the band is in the midst of its Mass Chaos Tour with Staind and Halestorm. The jaunt commences on April 13 in Augusta, GA at the James Brown Arena, and it promises to be a brilliantly bruising night of hard rock.

SOURCE: Universal Republic Records