Sub Pop Records is following in the footsteps of the Merge and Saddle Creek imprints by rewarding the purchaser (remember them?) with free, official mp3 downloads directly from the label, via a coupon found inside all forthcoming vinyl LPs. Yes! Give the vinyl purchaser something special, or at least hold hands on the path down to the iPod or 10-cent blank CD. I'm all for this common sense approach in a world where music is becoming exchangeable files instead of (geezer alert!) collectible physical artifacts, linked together by a discernible, evolutionary timeline. The first LP to contain a unique coded coupon is Tuesday's release of The Shins' Wincing the Night Away.
Everybody remembers his or her first, remarkable concert experience. The one where you ditched your parents, hitchhiked to a show without a ticket, nearly died in the pit, or felt the earth shake and realized: This is it, this is where I belong, and these are my people. For me, it was Bob Seger opening for KISS in 1976, when one of the guys in my church youth group talked an adult into driving us downtown to see, ahem, a "musical." Bam! We knew where he parked the car, and we knew he wouldn't drive home without us. I pine for the old days of festival seating in huge arenas, with the electricity of real, palpable danger in the air, the warm, jovial sight of five Iron Horsemen peeing in a garbage can, and scoring a bootleg concert t-shirt for five bucks in the parking lot after the show. I have a friend who, in my humble opinion, holds the golden trifecta of concert experiences, having witnessed the Beatles, Woodstock, and the Sex Pistols. Try topping that. I will always treasure seeing Jeff Buckley turn a laundromat into a chapel; watching Run-D.M.C. rock the mic on the streets of Hollis, Queens in 1983; and Big Black playing their swan song in a former house of ill repute on the banks of the Ohio River. Like pages from a secret diary, the Da Capo Press has collected 50 writers reliving their most memorable concert-going experiences in The Show I'll Never Forget, a fantastic book of essays that burn with hilarious and touching epiphany. With notable contributors Harvey Pekar, Chuck Klosterman, Thurston Moore, Charles R. Cross, and Maggie Estep, a number of serious authors also took editor Sean Manning's invitation, including Max Allen Collins, Tracy Chevalier, Diana Ossana, and the poet Paul Muldoon. Highlights include Thomas Beller's memories of a police beat-down at a Kinks concert at Madison Square Garden, Heidi Julavits' history with bad boys who love Rush, and Christian Death co-founder John Albert's confessional disconnect as an L.A. outcast brawling to Black Flag at the Hong Kong Café. Highly recommended.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Five for Fighting on Thursday and Switchfoot on Tuesday; The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Alicia Keys on Monday and The Shins on Tuesday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien presents The Holmes Brothers this evening overnight; Last Call with Carson Daly saddles up Gov't Mule on Friday overnight; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is AFI.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, January 23:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
Animal Collective - "People" (Fat Cat) Australian tour EP featuring a live version of the single
The Bird and the Bee - The Bird and the Bee (Metro Blue) anticipated full-length debut from the boy-girl duo named by the Los Angeles Times as one of "10 Bands on the Horizon for 2007"
Black Diamond Heavies - Every Damn Time (Alive) raw Southern blues-punk duo
Chrome Cranks - Diabolical Boogie: Singles, Demos and Rarities (Atavistic) two-CD set
Rob Crow - Living Well (Temporary Residence) third homegrown solo album from the Pinback frontman
David Karsten Daniels - Sharp Teeth (Fatcat) sweeping, shadowy indie hymns that soar from a harmonious commune of voices and breathtaking orchestration to tender, softly psychedelic piano and acoustic guitar
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars) featuring 12 interchangeable CD covers by painter David Shrigley
D.O.A. - Bloodied But Unbowed: The Damage to Date 1978-83 (Sudden Death) deluxe remastered reissue
Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up (Jagjaguwar) with collaborator Rick White of Eric's Trip
Tony Furtado - Thirteen (Funzalo) featuring covers of Elton John's "Take Me to the Pilot" and The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again"
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen - The Good, The Bad, and The Queen (Virgin) new from Paul Simonon of The Clash, Simon Tong of The Verve and Damon Albarn of Blur under the production of Danger Mouse
Herbert - 100 lbs (!K7 Records) pumping, ompa-ompa techno reissue with a bonus b-sides disc
Hot IQs - Dangling Modifier (Yaw Act!on Records) CD EP featuring a cover of Archers of Loaf's "Web In Front"
The Hotel Alexis - Goliath, I'm On Your Side (Broken Sparrow) tender, daydream Americana glowing in pedal steel, vibraphone and mellotron
Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home (Equal Vision) solo effort from the Thrice frontman
John Mellencamp - Freedom's Road (Universal) with guest Joan Baez
Menomena - Friend and Foe (Barsuk) oddly melodic loop-driven, lava-lamp experimental trio reminiscent of Peter Gabriel scoring a Tim Burton film
moe - The Conch (Fatboy) featuring the curiously titled "Tubing the River Styx"
Only Crime - Virulence (Fat Wreck Chords) slamming buzz-punk at the speed of GBH, featuring Bill Stevenson of the Descendents and Russ Rankin of Good Riddance
Placebo - Meds (Virgin) domestic reissue with bonus tracks including a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill"
Kenny Wayne Shepherd - 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads (Reprise) CD/DVD road trip documentary featuring Double Trouble, Etta Baker, and B.B. King
Static Thought - In the Trenches (Hellcat / Epitaph) featuring 17-year old Eric Urbach
Billy Strayhorn - Lush Life (Blue Note) CD companion to the PBS-TV's Independent Lens documentary to air February 6, with special guests Elvis Costello and pianist Hank Jones
The Tiny - Starring: Someone Like You (Eyeball) quirky, playful Swedish Pop fluttering in the space of Kate Bush and Bjork, featuring a delightfully glowing cover of Gillian Welch's "Everything Is Free Now" performed with cello and musical saw
Tony Trischka - Double Banjo Bluegrass Special (Rounder) with guests Earl Scruggs, Alison Brown, Bela Fleck, and comedian - and smokin' banjo picker - Steve Martin
Twilight Singers - A Stitch in Time (One Little Indian) five-track EP featuring Mark Lanegan and a cover of Massive Attack's "Live With Me"
VietNam - VietNam (Kemado) killer, sonic acid-blues quartet from Brooklyn, flicking funky, majestic pot liquor like vintage Alice Cooper backed by The Bottle Rockets, chewing peyote and channeling the ghosts of Roky Erickson; featuring special guests Jenny Lewis and Maroon 5's Jesse Carmichael
Paul Weller - Hit Parade (Yep Roc) four-CD box set or single-CD best of, collecting solo work and tracks by The Jam, The Style Council
various artists - Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1973 (Rhino) fantastic five-CD box set also available in a $200 12 X 12 inch deluxe edition with a hardcover book, prints, postcards, and CD-ROM
various artists - Om Chilled: Relax, Recline Unwind... (Om) sleek, stoned, tinkled and crinkled down-tempo grooves from Land Shark, The Moves, and the Tarantulaz featuring Monique Bingham
various artists - Our Impact Will Be Felt: A Tribute to Sick of It All (Abacus) with 21 cover contributions from Bouncing Souls, Hatebreed, Madball, Napalm Death, Bleeding Through, Unearth, and more
