Vol. 5 Episode 16

I am going to see Temples tonight so I am posting this a day in advance and will post a concert review tomorrow.

The Ar-Kaics are on tour. They are not coming to my state but are on a very short east coast tour. Look them up if you are interested.

The Ar-Kaics single being put out by Hidden Volume will be up for sale next month.

The Ar-Kaics single being put out by Steady Sounds is up for purchase at their web page.

K Records is rereleasing two Bikini Kill records. I am interested in one of them but I may not be able to get a copy. It depends on the timing.

And now, on to RSD 2014 part 2...

Surfer Blood – Pythons (Demos)

This is a special release for Record Store Day 2014. It was released on vinyl in clear or black. I don’t think that there was any label on the record shrink wrap stating that it was clear or not. I did not however get a clear copy. I am a little disappointed about this but am still happy to have a copy. Discogs reports 1000 of each color but I have a feeling that a limited number of that 1000 were the clear versions. Other fans of the group have dubbed this version of the album the punk album. After listening and comparing the two versions of the album I have come up with my own opinion of the sound on this new demo version of Pythons. Personally, I think that the sound on this demo version just sounds different. More than anything the production values have bee stripped away leaving the raw original creative values that the group came up with. I don’t think this will get listened to nearly as much as the version with the production values applied. Both albums have their merits but I like well produced albums.

I had this to say about the original release for Pythons back in Vol. 4 Episode 23, “This is the second full length album from indie rock group Surfer Blood. It was released this past week (June 2013). It is a short album, clocking in at just over a half an hour. It is also a very good album. I have been listening to it over and over for the past few days. They have really continued where Tarot Classics left off two years ago. The changes on this album are subtle but noticeable. The inclusion of screams in a few tracks and A bit more edgy grit in the guitars is specifically what I saw different than what they have done in the past. I actually like it a lot. The album was not available in any kind of colored vinyl and there was a CD included with the vinyl instead of a download. I was disappointed that there was not a color option but the CD was an added bonus. This is the groups first time on a major label if you can call Sire, owned by Warner Bros., a major label now.

The first single released from the album is called DemonDance. This single was put out as a 7” three colored record for Record Store Day 2013. I wanted to get it but it was one of the two that I couldn’t get a hold of on the day. I guess I wasn’t too disappointed about that as both the A and B sides were from this album. The song starts out with a nice clean electric guitar sound and a soaring high pitched distorted guitar sound. The organ sound kicks in at the start of the first chorus and sounds great floating in the background. I was very surprised when at the second half of the song after the breakdown there was an addition of screaming/growling that sort of works for the song. It is a new facet to the groups’ bag of tricks that I like.

I am not sure if Weird Shapes will be released as a single or not but it was up on the groups web page in the beginning of this year to preview. The song starts off with a multi-layered guitar with drums backing. As the rest of the song kicks in it starts to remind me right away of the song Miranda from 2011’s EP Tarot Classics. I think what is really different about this one is the addition of the screams. It is a really cool way to differentiate that this is a new way of music for the group even with the smooth Ooos. It is a cool way to showcase both sides of the group in one song.

This album is really great and I think that everyone should give it a shot. It will only take out a half hour of your day and you won’t be disappointed.”

Broken Bells – Holding On For Life

This is a 12” single released for Record Store Day 2014 (April 19^th). I was very excited to find that this was being released. I was also disappointed to find that it was just remixes though. I wish that there would have been at lease one B side included in the set of recordings. The single was pressed on black vinyl with 4750 units pressed. I thought that it would have been cool if they had pressed it on clear pink vinyl because of the color scheme used on the cover. They didn’t and I guess I am not the designer for the record either.

I had this to say about this single when the album was released from Vol. 5 Episode 3, “The first single, Holding On For life, has a good beat. This was really expected though with Danger Mouse doing the programming. The bass guitar has a very smooth picked style almost like that of Stereolab. There is also a synth sound that was used quite a bit in the 80s synth pop sound. It is really a sound that I have missed honestly. This is what needed to grow on me. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that sound to be brought back. I have realized that I missed that sound and am happy for it to have returned. The guitars are typical for this type of music right now. It is not watered down; it is just there to support the music.”

Members of the team that created this album were able to do remixes for this song and they were collected on this single. There are three of them. The first of these three were the Baio Remix. This remix reminds me of the beginning of the electronic movement in the mid 80s. It is a slower version of the song but works on so many levels. This version really elevates the 80s electronic sound that the song started with originally.

The second remix on the album is by Nick Zinner. This version focuses on the instruments instead of the samples in the song. It is a good version. There are still synth sounds but the overall focus is on the real instruments.

The third remix on the album comes from Doc McKinney & Ali Shaheed Muhammad. It is an interesting remix with studders in the vocals. This always makes me take a second look to see if there is something wrong with the record. Over all this track has a late 70s disco feel. But it is one of those disco tracks that you need to dig for to find. It doesn’t have a standard disco feel.

The last two tracks are; one, an instrumental version and two, an acapella version.

Joy Division – An Ideal For Living

This is a Record Store Day 2014 release. It is a repressing of the first ever release for Joy Division with updated cover art. It is the 12” on black vinyl. There were quite a few pressings of this release, 7500 for the US and a grand total of 13500 for the world including the US pressings. I did think that it was pretty cool that they pressed it at 45 RPMs.

There are four tracks on this EP and none of them are the sound that I love from the group. They are the first tracks from the group and I can respect the sounds that they started with. The first track from the EP is called Warsaw. I have known about this song for a long time but have never heard it. The song is straight up punk. It is a very good track and sounds very raw. I like it and it will grow on me for sure.

The second track is called No Love Lost. This track has the standard sounds musically that I would expect from the group including the higher pitched bass playing and the effects on the drums. There is also the sparse guitar playing that the group is known for in the earlier work. The vocals are very different though with a somewhat hollow sound. Again, I like this track and it adds a new dimension to what I would have expected from them.

The next track, Leaders of Men, has a cool lower tone in the bass guitar that I don’t usually expect from the group. It is quite refreshing really. The drums are again processed with a slight echo effect on the snare particularly. This track somehow reminds me of The Clash. It is simple but very effective.

The last track is called Failures.  This is a faster track that goes back to the Punk sound from the first track. It is fast, fun and hardcore. It is also not what I would have expected from the group but it is fun and a new dimension again.

I still think that punk music is some of the best music to come from our music history. If you get this expecting a post punk sound you will be sadly mistaken. If you are after more punk music and find a copy of this then get it. You won’t be disappointed.

Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters

This is a 30^th anniversary edition of the Ghostbusters theme released for Record Store Day 2014. It is, of course, a limited release, it is also numbered. I don not know how many were pressed though. I do know that it is pressed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl.  I did not get this for my self. This was actually a purchase for my son. He loves the movies and the cartoons so naturally he would want this release.

The release has the original track from the soundtrack and three other versions of the song. The original Ghostbusters theme was a big hit for Ray Parker Jr. The song is a number one hit. It works so well partially because it was designed to resemble an advertisement jingle. Jingles are designed to get into your head to make you want to buy whatever the product is. The song works for exactly that reason. The song also makes use of classic 80s sounds that are tried and true. I like the song and the movies. My family also likes the song and movies. Nobody complained when my son wanted to get this single. Actually we were all excited to get our hands on it.

The second track on the single is just an instrumental version of the song. The third track on the record is the extended version of the song. This version adds two minutes to the track extending it from 4:10 to 6:10 in time. The first minute and a half is a completely new opening to the track. The one thing I don’t like about this is that the song loses the opening guitar slide part. I really liked that part. There is also an extended breakdown in the middle of the song that fills out additional 30 seconds of the added two minutes. Is this extra two minutes needed in the song, no. But, it is cool to hear new parts to a song that weren’t there before.

The last version of the song is a dub remix. it is actually a stripped down version of the song. The saxophone stands out better and there is a cool reverse echo used on the vocals when they come in. It is mostly an acoustic version with the chorus lyrics only. I wish that they had included the lyrics more prominently. They are there but they are mixed so far to the back that, unless you are listening for them, you will never even hear them. Even when I do listen to them I only catch light whispers of them and not very often either.

It is good to have this song but the extras are almost unneeded.

That is all I have for now...