Red Record Box

Evil Brain From Outer Space

Alvin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:53:20 +0000

One different direction… Do you like it?

Alvin

More Florence

Alvin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:05:15 +0000

Here’s some more Florence and the Machine just to keep the appearance of progress.

Alvin is Gregg by the way.

Gregg

St. Anger - Alvin Anger

Alvin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:56:25 +0000

This is so funny. I really like old Metallica. Not too old, maybe from “With Liberty…” through S&M Live. When they came out with the St. Anger album I was beside myself with Alvin Anger! Plus, you see, I’m old and I have no friends who share my love of Metallica so I had no one to share my outrage with. But that was a few years ago. I’ve zipped my St. Anger files and have just put them away.

When I ran into this video this morning, I knew I had to post it.

Alvin (or is it?)

Alvin is about to come clean!

Alvin — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:25:12 +0000

Who is Alvin really? Why is he so lazy when it comes to posting? Maybe sometimes he doesn’t want to post about music only. He says he knows all kinds of stuff about music. Maybe he really doesn’t. Maybe he just owns a lot of music but can’t tell you the difference between post-punk and pre-industrial. What are the finer points of an atypical electronic Downtempo compared to a true Trip-Hop classic? Maybe he doesn’t have a clue. Or, maybe sometimes he would rather just post about Dr. Drew and Ass-holics Anonymous.

Or maybe he wants to share some serious news, like the black guy going around the country asking for change.

Maybe his name isn’t really even Alvin. Maybe it’s a more common name like Bob or Jeff. Stay tuned… All will soon be revealed. Maybe not all… Maybe not soon… Maybe.

Currently playing in iTunes: Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead by Akron/Family

Zenzile was dub

Alvin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:37:20 +0000

Zenzile, once known as the “Kings of French Dub” have obviously taken a different direction on their newest release. I found them through a reference to “Tricky” and decided to sample their latest project because he appears as a guest vocalist on one of their tunes. If you’re really searching for Dub, you will find a little here but if you’re searching for something different and catchy you’ll be in the right place. Hard to describe but dark, deep, driving, downtempo comes to mind. I read 2 reviews that mention talking heads in comparison but I don’t see it. Also when it comes to the “Tricky Track” you’ll recognize the voice but sans the growl that usually sounds like an exhalation after a deep toke. Check it out. This is what I heard today.

The other song is by Angels & Airwaves, kind of a post-punk, emo supergroup (Blink-182, Box Car Racer, Over My Dead Body, Offspring, 30 Seconds to Mars) that seems to almost have turned themselves into an arena-rock band. I like the song and I think I’m about to get a chance to see the group live so we’ll see if it’s just production or if they’re making a transformation into pure commercialism. But I like what I like…

Alvin

I have to show you this

Alvin — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:52:40 +0000

I’m sorry I’ve been posting only video lately, but you have to see this…

What does this mean? What’s a white chick doing on this train? Why does she think she can just get up and start shaking her stuff in front of all these people she doesn’t even know? What’s going on here? Why won’t that guy look anyone in the eye?

*******

Now jump 40 years forward to 1997 and see how Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan collaborates with producer Michael Brook on the fusion album “Star Rise.” This rare work is surprisingly available at amazon.com’s new mp3 service.

I’ve just been feeding you videos for the last 3 posts so you need to go out and purchase this specialty! - Star Rise

PS: I do realize that I’m presenting 2 differing styles of eastern music here. One obviously secular in the video and one traditionally devotional with the twist of western fusion in the Ali Khan download. I’m not a total idiot. (but if you can tell me more about the secular style, I’m interested)

Alvin

Lady Lazarus wants to meet her.

Alvin — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:43:02 +0000

Thanks to Lady Lazarus for pointing out this video. Tragic.

ALVIN

Beirut

Alvin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:56:37 +0000

Are my tastes changing or just widening?

ALVIN

Another beginning

Alvin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:04:50 +0000

Last year, about a year ago, I started doing this thing because I was inspired by a music blog out of Dublin called “The Torture Garden” the curator, Shane, had put up a best of 2006 listing and I was just amazed at all the new bands and music that I found and/or rediscovered through another person’s eyes. I already had many of the albums in his suggestion list of 2006’s best but had set them aside without many listens. Thanks to Shane for the inspiration.

Yesterday, I found another source that has been right under my nose for at least the last 10 years. NPR. Bun and I listen to NPR and WPR every day and every night. It has become the background soundtrack to our lives. If the TV’s not on or the stereo isn’t playing, Public Radio is on somewhere in the house.

Several times a week there are music reviews by NPR writers like Stephen Thompson or John Schaefer from WNYC. Now that it’s the end of the year again, I’m coming across these gentlemen’s Best Of lists and am finding much of the same things I found last year. Check out Music at NPR. I’m finding for some reason I already own most of the albums that they are all talking about and I’ve already purchased a new one this morning from the band “Stars” on the advice of Mr. Thompson.

The one album I’m seeing on EVERYONES list this year is “Challengers” by The New Pornographers. I bought it a couple of months ago and have shared it with Bun and our 19 year old daughter but that’s it. How could everyone in the world already know about this album? I’m guessing the reason is because it’s so great. And different. And cool. (I never claimed to be a writer, I just do sometimes)

Here’s a couple: In Our Bedroom After The War by Stars - buy - and My Rights Versus Yours by The New Pornographers from Challengers - buy

I doubt if I’ll be so bold as to put out a best of 2007 (There’s so much that’s good and so many styles. I couldn’t do it) but just keep listening over the next year and you might hear the best of 2008.

Alvin

Florence and the Machine

Alvin — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:46:17 +0000

Where can I get more?

Florence and The Machine - ‘The Girl With One Eye’

Add to My Profile | More Videos

ALVIN

So Frustrating!

Alvin — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:14:04 +0000

When I decided to get back into this after a couple month’s hiatus. I did a few things to try to make blogging easier and to make the posting and maintenance of words and music easier and less time consuming.

First I downgraded my theme to Kubrick and just changed the color scheme to match RRB. Second I began using PodPress which helps with posting music and provides those cool players at the bottom of each post. I gave up some flexibility in exchange for a little more simplicity.

However, since I’ve made these simplifications I’ve run into all kinds of little annoying permissions problems and I can’t get PodPress to recognize my media directory where I keep all the goodies.

I’m just writing this post as a test and to see what my current settings will do today. - NOW MY RICH TEXT EDITOR IS ALL MESSED UP!

I just found this new artist… “Pinch” who just put out his own album “Underwater Dancehall” but is better known for his minimalist production techniques on such gems as Burial’s most recent release; Untrue. Check this out but sample the rest of the album too at emusic. - Buy

Alvin

All Your Things Are Gone!

Alvin — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:35:31 +0000

All of them?

Mona Elliott the voice behind Boston’s Victory at Sea gilds their melancholy sea shanties with elaborate grandeur and ruined majesty — like a castle covered in moss or a crumbling statue of David. On the album All Your Things Are Gone, Elliott, channels the loneliness of others in the song “Cecille”, with its wounded protagonist and thundering percussion, a mirror of Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control”, and the ominous “The Party” tracks the slow, painful collapse of an individual who’s hellbent on bridge-burning. There may not be a whole lot of joy on All Your Things Are Gone, but that doesn’t make it any less thrilling.

I stole all of these words but they sound good. So does Victory at Sea.

She’s lost Control by Joy Division…

Cecille by Victory At Sea - Buy

The Party by Victory At Sea - Buy

Hey! Remember Pat MacDonald from Timbuk 3? I’m listening to his new album, Troubadour Of Stomp, right now. It’s very cool. Low, dirty guitar with the clean kind of production that makes it sound like its supposed to sound low & dirty. I’d put up a sample but I asked him if I could and he never replied so I better not. Bun works with him and his sister every summer in promoting the Steel Bridge Songfest and I don’t want to cause trouble. I guess it’s better just not to ask. (Like Victory At Sea and Joy Division)

Vicky Emerson - Instant Friend

Alvin — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:14:03 +0000

I’ve known Vicky Emerson for about a year and a half. I’ve met her twice in person. But I still consider her a good friend. She is one of those people who you instantly feel comfortable with and you feel like you’ve known her all of your life. We all know at least one person like that. If you’re lucky you know a couple of them. (I know a few) At the first concert I hired her for, she embarrassed me by calling me up and having me play piano with her. I am a musician and I have played some piano in my life but I was so unnerved that I could barely plink out the simple line she assigned me. I can’t even remember what the song was.

Anyway, I’ve hired Vicky to perform for the last 2 years at a little concert series that I’m in charge of. So I met her a year and half ago in June or July. She tours constantly so I am fortunate to have been able to book her twice. Especially since she used to live in Minneapolis and has since moved to Manhattan. She even gave my daughter some good tips on finding a New York apartment a few months ago. So you can tell that I would like her whether or not she had just release a great new CD.

The new CD by Vicky Emerson is self titled “Vicky Emerson.” I think this is her 5th or 6th release so you know if someone titles a new album after herself after 4 previously good releases, this one’s really going to be special. One thing about this recording… Vicky scored big-time by calling in on her friendship with world renowned steel guitar player Lloyd Maines. But with the addition of steel, it definitely changes the feel of the music to give it a Country bent. A step or two away from her usual “Alt-Folk” style. I still love the album. Vicky is still in there. I’m sure it will boost her sales in the southwest (Texas) where she tours regularly. You can buy “Vicky Emerson” at CDBaby or iTunes if you prefer. I’m sure you can get it along with the others at www.VickyEmerson.com. Here’s two of my favorites…

Watch for Vicky on tour or regularly playing somewhere in NYC.

E. K. Dies

Alvin — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:29:57 +0000

Evel Knievel died today.

And his website crashed.

I Will Dare

X from Ain’t Love Grand - Buy

I’m Back - With a Pitchfork

Alvin — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:48:27 +0000

OK I’m going to start doing this again.

I stopped for a couple reasons… For one I had a ton of work happening at my business and posting was taking too much time out of my productive work time and I felt guilty doing this instead of that.

The other thing was, that, by posting about music and sharing what I liked, I found myself over organizing my music collection and using the iTunes rating tool to try to keep better track of what I liked and why I liked it. After 2 years of putting tunes into my rating system (*-Favorite Tunes, **-RedRecordBox Suggestions, ***-Good Tunes, ****-Good Jazz and *****-Trash it) I recently spent some extra time listening to my “Rated Music” and found that, for the most part, it was boring and all the same. As of this moment I now have 32,153 songs in my iTunes library. I know I’ve got about 20 tunes with a 5 star rating that I haven’t thrown out yet, and 725 rated songs 1 to 4 stars. HOW COULD I OWN 32000 songs and only have rated 700 in the past 2 years?

Here’s how… While writing this post I’ve been listening to an album by Pitchfork. Actually it’s 2 EPs packaged together called Eucalyptus/Saturn Outhouse. I like their music. Kind of reminds me of Frank Black right after the Pixies but a little heavier. I don’t really know anything about them, I find a lot of new music at EMusic through their daily free track or I find something I like on another Music Blog then go out and find the album. I listened to the whole album, I liked it but I didn’t rate it. It was just part of my day.

2 years ago, 10/18/2005 is when I started to devise and revise my system. Since that date I’ve listened to 10,023 songs (from 1 to 14 times each) and I’ve not listened to 21,886 songs that I own. So in the past 2 years I’ve listened to 2/3 of my music collection that I’ve been accumulating for about 37 years. All of my CDs are ripped to MP3 all of my cassette tapes (except Screaming Blue Messiahs’ - Gun Shy, it’s sitting right here) and most of my vinyl has either been replaced by CD or directly digital) I probably have about 150 vinyl albums in the basement that I haven’t transferred to digital yet but that’s only about 1500 to 2000 more songs that are missing here.

So music is just a part of my life and I probably go days without rating any music. It’s not that I don’t like what I’m listening to, it’s obvious that I don’t think that much about rating.

All that to tell you this. I don’t know if that just made any sense or if most people can imagine having that much music in their collection (it’s an obsession). I will try to serve you with a sample selection of what I’m listening to on a regular basis. I’ve got a lot of ideas at the moment, some friends that have just put out CDs, several great albums that have come out recently and some other things that i have rated 2 stars but haven’t shared yet.

Here’s one of those Pitchfork songs. I’ve listened to it 4 times in the last 20 minutes. I think it has something to do with a farm. Honest!

Buy

Afterhours

Alvin — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:49:59 +0000

Finally, Ballads for Little Hyenas emerged in the US early last year, with distribution through One Little Indian, the hip little label that Björk brought into the public eye. Afterhours’ newfound recognition, however, should be largely credited to Greg Dulli. The former front man for The Afghan Whigs co-produced Ballads for Little Hyenas, and it is no coincidence that Dulli’s current band, The Twilight Singers, are also signed to One Little Indian.

Please see whole review at Pop Matters

MP3: Judas’ Blood by Afterhours from Ballads for Little Hyenas - Buy

Last night Bun & I went to see Resident Evil III. We’re not usually into the “video game turns movie” genre but for some reason we’ve seen all 3 of the RE films (OK movies) and we like them. III - Extinction is the best so far. Great zombie movie! Anyway as we watch a broken down caravan of trucks and busses moving across the dessert the under music is Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” and it’s been going through my head ever since.

The heavy, psychedelic acid rock of Iron Butterfly may seem dated to some today, but the group was one of the first hard rock bands to receive extensive radio airplay, and their best-known song, the 17-minute epic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” established that more extended compositions were viable entries in the radio marketplace, paving the way for progressive AOR. For those of you old enough to remember AOR. Album Oriented Rock. Sorry about the quality on this. You’ll have to turn it up. Crank it while you’re at it!

MP3: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly from THE ALBUM - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

ALVIN

Madrid de los Austrias

Alvin — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:11:20 +0000

I thought Carlos Valderrama was a baseball player. That’s nice that it’s about sports. I don’t really care. I came in to work on Monday morning and this is what was playing when I came back from getting the coffee filters. This is an excellent Monday morning pick-me-up.

From Soul Seduction

The comeback EP “El Pibe” of Vienna’s bombastic band Madrid de los Austrias is a tribute to the legendary Columbian midfielder Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama. This EP is a very strong and versatile package showing the eclectic production skills of Michael Kreiner & Heinz Tronigger aka MDLA. “DC 10″ & “Valderrama” (El Pibe Mixsaje) are two unreleased prime time cuts that will rock the discos around the globe by any means. “Deia” is the first track out of the upcoming “Mas Amor” (SR040) album and features the gifted songstress Carol C known for her recordings on David Burne´s label Luaka Bop. The icing on the cake on the “El Pibe” EP is delivered by the Italian production outfit The Dining Rooms with their amazing reinterpretation of the album track “Vida Del Pescador”. The “El Pibe” EP is as fresh as Carlos Valderrama´s unique style on the soccerfield.

MP3: Valderrama (El Pibe Mixsaje) by Madrid de los Austrias - Buy

Then there’s the reason that I found Madrid de los Austrias in the first place. Their unusual but totally cool mixing of Flamenco and Electronica. Whether you’re already acquainted with Madrid de los Austrias or not, these two tracks will put you absolutely in awe of how many different directions this Vienna duo can take its seemingly novelty sound.

MP3: Cleo In Madrid by Madrid de los Austrias - eMusic

MP3: Dove Estuta by Madrid de los Austrias - eMusic

ALVIN

Lunch?

Alvin — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:39:30 +0000

I can’t believe I haven’t posted in a whole month! (yes I can) I’ve heard so much great music recently but just haven’t motivated myself to tell anyone. I’m sure Bunn is sick of me telling her about every new songster that comes my way. My new favorites this week are Thomas Lunch and Sugarcult. I’ve had Sugarcult’s album Palm Trees And Power Lines since October of ‘05 but never paid them much attention until I saw them on Fearless Music this weekend singing “Los Angeles.” Very cool. Causing me to reconsider.

But Thomas Lunch! I can’t remember an album ( a whole album) that I’ve listened to over and over in many ages. Here’s a quote from YouTube’s “Broadcast Yourself” feature. Followed by the video for Fire Puppy and an MP3 of “Oh My!” from “Diagrams Without Instructions”

A fresh departure from the genre specific, mass marketed, cookie cutter commercialism typical of many bands today, Thomas Lunch covers a diverse landscape with a unique blend of experimental, soulful, indie/electro fusion. Music, that is thoughtful, rich in irony and full of real life messages that will often leave you feeling disturbed, comforted, puzzled but yet connected. Skinny, sweaty, and unbridled, his live shows are not just about the music, but an artistic experience, which reaches out and affects his audience. Thomas Lunch lives every minute of his life under the spirit of rock-n-roll and he has left his mark on many towns stretching across America.

Whatever. I like it.

MP3: By Thomas Lunch - Oh My! & Fire Puppy

ALVIN

Maybe some Sugarcult soon or check them out at emusic. Thomas Lunch too.

Choir Practice

Alvin — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:34:09 +0000

Someone near to me just told a bunch of people about Red Record Box. So I figure I better post something.

It just so happens that I found something really different yesterday… The indie vocal conglomerate from Vancouver known as The Choir Practice.

“Choirmaster Coco Culbertson is no stranger to the Vancouver music scene (The Gay, A.C. Newman, The Tennessee Twin). Acknowledging the need for musical camaraderie, she recruited new and old friends including Larissa Loyva (P:ano, Kellarissa), Naomi Mepham, Olivia Fetherstonhaugh (Fanshaw), Jenn Chycoski (Pokiok Falls), classical music enthusiast Kristen Halliday, Chris Kelly (Gay Straights), Shane Turner (Love and Mathematics), DJ Scotty “Ska-T” Stewart, photographic sensation Karin Bubas, filmmaker Shira Blustein (Blood Meridian), Ida Nilsen (Great Aunt Ida, The Buttless Chaps), outsider artist/musician Sydney Vermont (Hello Blue Roses), florist Marcy Emery (Heartbreak Scene), and Kurt Dahle (The New Pornographers, The Basement).”

One criticism I’ve read is that the work is way over produced. I don’t see that as a bad thing with a “choir.” In my opinion it’s a nice clean recording.

Check them out…

MP3: The Choir Practice from Choir Practice - Red Fox & Believe In Something - Buy

Phoenix from Paris

Alvin — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:31:10 +0000

Reviewed by: Nick Southall

Excerpt: English language pop often suffers at the tongues and dictionaries of non-native speakers who treat the idiom with too much reverence, afraid to corrupt it for the sake of imagination or insinuation, but this isn’t a problem for Phoenix.

Produced by Phoenix and recorded “in our basement”, Alphabetical is typified by sweet harmonies, gently understated melodies and easy rhythms, adding up to create a sense of almost complete weightlessness, but a rich, detailed and solid weightlessness, uplifting and gloriously at odds with the potential ontological emptiness of the lyrics.

MP3: By Phoenix - Everything is Everything & Long Distance Call

ALVIN

(this post somehow relates to my discussion of porn on myspace) (no reflection intended on the great band Phoenix)