Rather You Than Her

I was in my local Target store this weekend when I spotted something eerie: A t-shirt for sale that resembles - although awkwardly - the cover for Best Coast’s latest record The Only Place. I snapped the photo on the left, and the album cover is obviously on the right.

Although I can’t think of anything specific offhand, I feel like this is far from the first time I’ve seen something like this. Pretty recently, Disney had used infused the trademark Mickey head and ears in with the iconic art of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album, and while this is clearly less deliberate, there are too many similarities to just write it off as a coincidence.

If you’ve seen this similarity posted elsewhere online, let me know. I came up empty on the Googling that I’ve done on it, only finding that Best Coast did a Christmas song for Target in 2010. Maybe there’s some other explanation out there, but on first glance, it seems like a clear stab at The Only Place, one that has merit for a possible lawsuit if this is news to the band.

Being a music enthusiast and not living in or near a major city must be heartbreaking. I’ve resided about an hour west of Chicago for almost five years - after spending most of my life in Milwaukee, where legendary Atomic Records did wonders for my growing up - and my location is definitely on the far left end of the area’s record store map. But I’m lucky enough to have some good spots relatively close by: I can easily kill an afternoon at Rediscover Records in Elgin or Kiss The Sky of Geneva, and even Bloomingdale’s Half Price Books offers some choice finds for cheap. With my wife and I sharing a car, heading into the city for a proper attack of several stores takes a bit more planning, and I have some favorites there as well: Logan Hardware ingeniously will let you play arcade games of your youth for free in their back room with any purchase, and between their three locations, Reckless Records usually has what I’m looking for (I also appreciate being able to search their inventory online beforehand). There are plenty more - Saki and Laurie’s Planet of Sound, for starters - that I’ve been meaning to hit as well, but in Illinois alone, what is someone to do if they live west of me? A quick Google Maps search leads to nearly zero record stores in the state’s northwestern corner and this is in the age where more stores are closing than ever. I know it’s small potatoes in a world rife with war and disease, but I seriously feel awful for the kid unable to walk into an independent retailer and hold a vinyl record before they buy it.

So although I frequent my local stores as much as I can, I feel Record Store Day is a great chance to remember why we appreciate them in the first place. True, it can be a madhouse when participating stores open, due to an overwhelming list of limited releases for sale that day. Several folks on Twitter went as far as to compare RSD to St. Patrick’s Day, in its ability to bring out the amateurs in full force. It’s a cute joke, but shortsighted; at the going rate, are we really going to start calling out fairweather fans of a dying business model? I just feel I need to be there early to participate, not elbow my fellow man for a box set. The world is weird, and I could be living in nowheresville with 17 cats in an apartment straight out of Hoarders, so even if I’m spending just $5.00, it’s a tiny thank-you to those that are still open to serve me. I greatly appreciate them sticking it out in this current financial climate, because they give me something rare when I spend money: A thrill. I can’t say I feel the same grocery shopping, you know?

So here’s a rundown of what I did on Record Store Day. Although I went to just two stores, I wanted to showcase how differently things were handled at both. Feel free to share your stories, purchases and more with me via email - ratheryouthanher(at)gmail(dot)com - or on Twitter: @rythvinyl.

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I don’t offer a whole lot of debate on the blog, but in the few hours we have left up until Record Store Day, I’d like to present the following piece and you can feel free to share, comment or whathaveyou.

The heart of the story is that the Chicago-based Numero Group - responsible for releasing countless great soul/R&B nuggets, usually from artists far underneath the radar - will be opening a pop-up store on Record Store Day for the second consecutive year, meaning it will only exist for one day (this year it’ll reside inside the Empty Bottle, a renowned Chicago venue that I’ve had the pleasure of performing at). Many Chicago record retailers have taken umbrage with this, including Patrick Monaghan of Saki.

In a detailed posting on the store’s blog, Patrick runs down his many arguments politely and thoughtfully. He gives a point-by-point breakdown on why he disagrees with Numero’s decision - mentioning that The Metro is also doing a similar pop-up this year - and it’s a worthwhile read.

What are your thoughts? Should labels not be able to set-up a pop-up store, or maybe just avoid it on Record Store Day? Or do Numero and other labels have just as much right as brick-and-mortar retailers, to showcase their stuff by any means necessary?

Feel free to comment or get at me on Twitter. And in case you missed it, please stream or download my chat with Record Store Day’s Director of Marketing Carrie Colliton here.

Record Store Day, the five-year-old nationally-organized event intended to celebrate brick-and-mortar retail outlets, is coming soon and it’s one of my favorite days of the year. To help shine a light on the neighborhood shops where we’ve all gone to discuss and discover new and classic albums, some of the biggest names in music put out limited-edition releases, perform in-stores or set up autograph signings. None of us should need a gigantic promotional push to get out of the house and visit our favorite record store - let alone on one day - but in the age of the download, it’s encouraging to see RSD grow year after year, getting more and more folks who haven’t set foot in a record store in years - or ever - through the doors.

I recently had the pleasure of hopping back on the Sock Monkey Sound podcast - based out of Rockford, IL - to chat with Carrie Colliton, co-founder and director of marketing for Record Store Day. We talked about the history of the event, how social media assists in getting the word out, and how artists get involved in putting out a special release that day. Listen to the podcast here, and please share it as we ramp up to Record Store Day on Saturday, April 21!

Make sure to also follow RSD via Facebook, Twitter, and this PDF of all the official releases that day.

You can also hear some other appearances of mine on Sock Monkey Sound here, including other podcast interviews with Maritime and The Dismemberment Plan.

Some folks have asked me to share my audio set-up, so I thought I’d post that today. I’m not much of a gearhead, but in talking with friends who are thinking about improving their current set-up or starting from scratch, it’s discouraging that many make the assumption that a ton of money is needed for a quality listening experience with vinyl.

You really have to decide what kind of listener you are, or that you think you’re going to be. For me, I absolutely do sit and listen to records and I’m able pick out distinct differences between the vinyl and an MP3 or CD version of the same record. However, I also just want to have something on in the house when people come over, or crank a side while I do dishes. If you feel you’re going to be more focused when listening, maybe you do want to invest in a $300 turntable or $600 speakers, and no one can fault you for that. But what I have currently works for me on so many levels - affordability, compactness, overall sound - that I thought I’d try to let folks know just how easy it is to sniff out something that also works for you.

TURNTABLE: Audio-Technica AT-LP60 (My cost: $95) // This is a pretty no-frills machine: Minimal installation is required and it plays like a dream. I opted to not go for one that can convert vinyl to MP3 because that’s not really my goal. I just wanted something that would play perfectly and this guy does. I had eyed them at Kiss The Sky, my local store here in the western Chicago suburbs, and did a lot of YouTube research on it before I invested. It finally took a recommendation from my lawyer/blogger pal Steve Rogovin to push it over the top for me.

RECEIVER: Sony STR-D615 (My cost: $50) // Yes, it’s a heavy, clunky receiver, but freelance writer/musician/friend Jeff Elbel had one just sitting in his garage, so I lucked out. I always run the setting on phono, even though the turntable as a line level switch that would allow you to run off the turntable’s own pre-amp. Despite the size, it fits nicely on my shelving right next to the turntable and for an older unit, it doesn’t overheat and I find myself getting the volume I need by keeping it at 3 or under. I always get a quality sound without any distortion.

SPEAKERS: Pioneer CS-G201WA II (My cost: $15) // I credit my wife for spotting these at Goodwill. For the price, I couldn’t go wrong because if I got them home and they didn’t work or even just performed less than I was hoping, I didn’t blow my paycheck. Yes, they have the fake wood paneling, but I was super happy plugging these guys in. They’re 100 watts and each has a 10” woofer, 4” midrange and a 2.5” tweeter. All of the above, partnered with the IKEA 2x2 Expedit for storage, make this portion of our living room my favorite part of the house, and I was able to do it all for under $200.

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As I posted previously, I was approached by the lovely folks at Insound about becoming an affiliate of theirs, allowing me to have my own online store through them and offer some of the vinyls I’ve featured here on the blog, as well as some other current favorites of mine.

Every month, I have the ability to give my readers a discount, so with the weather cooperating and baseball season underway - full disclosure: GO BREWERS! - why not start now?

So for all of April, up until May 1, you can get 10% OFF anything in my store with promo code happyapril10. I tried to throw a little of everything in there, so you’ll find vinyl, turntables, books I recommend and other random stuff.

Even if I wasn’t a part of Insound’s affiliate program, I’d tell you that they’re incredibly fast and they stock pretty much everything you’re looking for. So go get yourself something awesome. You deserve it!

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been waiting for the official release list from the good folks of Record Store Day to come out.

Some things you’ll personally have to fight me for include the Ryan Adams live 7” of Bob Mould covers, the Civil Wars’ Billy Jean 7”, Cursive’s vinyl Burst & Bloom reissue (pictured above), and The Tallest Man On Earth’s King of Spain 12” (featuring a cover of Paul Simon’s “Graceland”).

Here’s a PDF of the entire list, and you can find more information at www.recordstoreday.com.

Thanks to the great folks at Insound for following my tweets and noticing the blog, I’ve joined their affiliate program and can now have a storefront through the blog, where you can purchase releases that I’ve covered previously, as well as check out some other current favorites of mine. I’ll keep adding stuff all the time, so keep checking back! 

Visit Rather You Than Her’s vinyl store, via Insound.

TRUTH.

Over the last week, followers of this blog on both Tumblr and Twitter have jumped up a ton, due to some very kind folks sharing particular posts with their own fans and followers. So I wanted to take a few seconds to thank to Minutemen/fIREHOSE bassist Mike Watt for sharing my Minutemen post (above), as well as the fine folks at Record Store Day, Reckless Records (Chicago), Darren Walters (Jade Tree Records), VinylVlog.com, Norm Gettis (Vinyl Record Talk), Rediscover Records (Elgin, IL), the Vinyl District (Austin), and Pearl Jam fansite PearlJamOnline for sharing recent posts of mine with their followers.

It was shocking to have Watt in particular share the Minutemen post, and getting so much positive feedback to the article via Facebook is humbling. Though I started music writing at an early age, I haven’t done it in a while, so I feel I’ve fallen out of step with it. It’s just encouraging to have new followers every day, and I hope I can keep turning you on to new music (even if it’s just new to you), cool packaging and design choices, or just remember old classics.

Please do visit the ABOUT section, and even my first post last year, where I laid out what I hope the blog would accomplish. If you’re an artist or record label, my mailing address is on the CONTACT page, and I post about every single record I receive. If you’re kind enough to send vinyl my way, the least I can do is make sure it gets a spotlight.

Thanks again for stopping by, and keep spreading the word.  :) — Jim

http://twitter.com/rythvinyl

As mentioned in my coverage of Double Nickels On The Dime below, this is some 2008 audio from my discussion on “Liner Notes” with host Derek Wright, on how Mike Watt “got me fired” from my first volunteer writing job at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

“Liner Notes” was a Sunday evening music talk show that I co-hosted for a time on Triton College Radio, 88.9FM WRRG (River Grove, IL).

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There’s not a whole lot I can say about the following releases that hasn’t already been said. The first three albums from Milwaukee’s Promise Ring, and Blake Schwartzenbach’s first post-Jawbreaker album with Jets To Brazil are all classic and seminal in their own ways. They laid the groundwork for literally thousands of bands to come up, and were two of the biggest names in late-90’s indie-rock. Being that they’re all currently out-of-print (though one wonders what could be in the works, with The Promise Ring’s reunion this year), I thought I’d feature them here.

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An interesting fact crossed my mind the other day, both embarrassing and yet somehow kind of cool: I own more vinyl records by gangly late-night giant Conan O’Brien than I do of seminal acts the Rolling Stones or the Beach Boys. Now, this statement isn’t meant to tout O’Brien’s prolificness on wax (he only does have two releases), but more so to point out a lack in my collection of some of the classics. Sure, I have Pet Sounds, but I’ve honestly just never been a major Stones fan, so I feel my thirst for them will eventually be quenched with Hot Rocks, as it contains most of my favorites. Either way, a brief Twitter exchange with the guys in Chicago quartet The Sky We Scrape (covered previously on this blog here) made me realize that some folks, even O’Brien’s biggest fans, don’t know about his two vinyl releases, so I figured I’d cover them here.

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I didn’t know what to make of Tin Armor when this self-released album arrived. Sporting an odd painting of the band by Nick Stull with dull fonts and muddy colors by designers Laura Sloan and David Leighty, it reminded me of an album that might not have only come out twenty years earlier (the late 80’s/early 90’s was a tepid period for album art, often resorting to similarly watery drawings), but that would be hocked by an out-of-touch folk artist playing outside a garage sale. Beartrap PR’s one-sheet that came with described them as “soulful Americana pop,” along the lines of some of my favorite acts (Wilco, The Weakerthans), so I brushed my apprehension aside before slipping it on the stereo.

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I knew absolutely zero about Waxahatchee’s American Weekend when it came in the mail, but like a lot of albums I receive for this site, I was immediately excited to listen just via the presentation alone. “These songs were written and recorded… as a result of a snowstorm, a visceral stupor and a personal breakthrough,” state the liner notes, and though I’m usually not one for a message that sets the musical bar so high (after all, these tracks are dedicated to anyone who has found “their identity blurry,” “had to clumsily get to know themselves, hit bottom… and ridden out a shitstorm”), the title paired with the engaging, heirloom-esque photographs of family and friends camping, fishing and generally enjoying their time together in the wilderness, drew me in. Clearly this was to be a personal, emotive record, and I was eager to put it on my turntable. What I heard though was a major letdown. 

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