Here Comes the Sunn O)))

In my last post, I remarked that Sunn O)))'s albums are difficult to find on vinyl (the band is pronounced simply "sun" even though it is pretentiously followed by O)))).  Of course, after much searching on eBay, discogs.com, and other sites, I was finally able to find a copy of Dark One for $30, the upper limit of what I am willing to spend (the fact that it is a double LP also helps justify the price).

This also coincides with...tonight I am going to see them in concert!  I am both excited and nervous, since they are known to be both mind-blowing and...well, LOUD.  I've heard this from many sources that they are the loudest thing I will probably ever hear.  "So loud I felt like I felt like I was going to throw up, I had to run to the bathroom," a clerk at Amoeba once told me.  I don't want to lose my hearing, and I certainly don't want to throw up.  I've brought extra earplugs, so we will see what happens.

About this kind of music...well, it isn't for everyone.  Kelly forbids me to play it in her presence :-P, unless we are gaming and I need some spooky mood-music--which I guess is how I got into them in the first place.  How to describe it?  "Drone metal" isn't quite accurate.  It definitely isn't Cookie Monster metal.  It is way too creative and strange...truly unique.

I'll be on the lookout for any merch they are peddling, especially LPs.

In other "Sun" news, I discovered the other day that my (bought for $7) LP of John Coltrane's "Sun Ship" has a weird defect.  Side B isn't the Coltrane Quartet at all!  More on that here and here.  One blogger identifies the mysterious Side B as "Things Have Got to Change" by Archie Shepp.  I can't say for certain, but it does sound like him.  It makes me wonder if the misprinted LP is worth any collector's cash (probably not).  At any rate, I now have to get a new vinyl copy of "Sun Ship" BUT NOT the 1980 reissue.

Great Albums You Can't Find on Vinyl

Vinyl almost completely died when CDs became popular, sometime around 1988-1991.  Interestingly, though, vinyl sales have picked up again, selling as many as 2.9 million units in 2008.  Still, for audiophiles or collectors, the period from 1991-2008 is a bit of a Dark Age.  A number of notable albums are incredibly rare, much to my dismay.  I can't justify spending much more than $25-30 on a record, even a double LP, and I don't think anyone else should, either.  I even managed to get a mono, six-eyed original Kind of Blue (Miles Davis, 1959) for less than that--sure, not in the best condition, but very cheap at that price if you compare it to say, a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) in the same condition.

1. 
   Bob Dylan, Time Out of Mind [1997].  One of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite, of Bob Dylan's albums.  It won the Grammy for best album in 1998 and is #408 in Rolling Stone's list of greatest albums of all time.  This was Dylan's transformation from Rock and Roll poet to blues guru, with some of the most stunning, powerful, and kick-you-in-the-teeth songs ever.  If you've ever hated Dylan's voice, that's probably because you never heard him sing the blues--and never quite like this.  Unfortunately...for an album that went platinum, its release on vinyl was very limited and the demand is exceedingly high.  Though it is relatively easy to look for, eBay has it for $119 or more.  Given Dylan's personal views on vinyl, there is some hope that a reissue is in the works.  In the meantime, I'll try to stay happy with a copy of Nashville Skyline that I got in the $1.99 bin--the best Dylan bang-for-your-buck that you'll be able to find.


2. 
   Ben Folds Five, Whatever and Ever Amen [1997]. Oh well, maybe not...we'll try again...at least at $120 or more on eBay.  Eventually better known perhaps for his solo stuff, Ben Folds was never better than he was with the Five--or rather, Three--Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge--each a spectacular musician in their own right.  It was a quirky and underrated album, but it put Ben Folds on the map with "Brick," a hit that managed to talk about abortion in a mature and sensitive way.  But even without that track, the rest of the album is pure dynamite, from "Song for the Dumped" to the spectacular string arrangement in "Selfless, Cold, and Composed."


3. 
   Gorillaz, Demon Days [2005].  Club / dance / electronic / DJ music never appealed to me, but there are exceptions to just about every rule.  Gorillaz managed to become an earworm with me before I even knew who they were--I believe it was a clerk at Bierkraft in Brooklyn, New York that first introduced me, probably while I was purchasing an ice cream sandwich.  This album is not only brilliantly put together musically, but socially relevant as well with its stories about a giant monkey who lives in a mountain and raps about "kids with guns." Mix in some video game noises that sound like they are straight of an 80's arcade and what you have is...an album that is at least $50 on eBay.


4. 
   Astor Piazzolla, Tango: Zero Hour [1986].  Though this is the only one in my list not from 1991-2008, it is still well worth mentioning because of its scarcity and sheer musical power.  Argentinian master of the tango and bandoneon legend, stories tell of how the man was beat up by the local police for taking the traditional music of Argentina--the tango--and mixing it with jazz, rock, and inventing the new breed "nuevo tango."  The late Astor Piazzolla considered this LP his greatest album, and it is difficult for me to disagree.  Occasionally it will pop on eBay for $40 or so, but the real bear is finding it without at least $16 in shipping costs.


5. 
   Sunn O))), Black One [2005].  This album was released on a very limited basis, supposedly only at their concerts.  Admittedly, this kind of music is not for everyone.  It's experimental death metal drone weirdness, but is commonly considered the creepiest album ever (as reviews on Amazon will attest).  Rare vinyl sites put this album somewhere at $50-$120.  We'll see if I ever get a chance to listen to it again, assuming my eardrums survive the experience of seeing them live next week (I've been told time and again that they perform so loudly that you are physically shaken to the core).


6. 
   Tom Waits, Bone Machine [1992].  Winner for the Grammy in the Best Alternative Music category (Tom Waits is considered "alternative"?  I guess so), this album was my first real introduction to the genius of Tom Waits.  Unfortunately, it was NEVER released on vinyl in the U.S.  The only copies in existence are imports--usually from the U.K., Germany, or elsewhere.  That means that shipping is cost-prohibitive, assuming you can even get this album for less than $30 USD, which is a feat by itself.  I think I've bid on it half a dozen times on eBay.  I guess "Goin' Out West" is meant ironically here, since everyone is going to have to look East to find it.


7. 
   The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan [2005].  Jack White is one of those diehard vinyl enthusiasts, so it is absolutely fucking baffling that this album--the White Stripes' masterpiece--was only released as a limited edition, with 600 copies in existence.  An even MORE limited edition--300 copies--is available in a sort of "promo" edition with an alternative cover.  Usually if you can find it for less than $200, it's a steal.  Currently eBay has one with minimum bidding starting at $128.  A part of me wants to write Jack White an angry letter telling him what a hypocrite he is, and another part of me is willing to wait it out and hope that common sense will prevail in the end.  We want the tracks, Jack!

The Joys of Vinyl, Part 2

[Originally Posted on Google+ on 10 August 2012]

Tonight's vinyl was "Return to Cookie Mountain" by TV on the Radio.  Those who have heard it know how musically dense it is and could probably understand why it is a vinyl pick.  Again, the vocals are so clear, and the supporting sounds are much more a background thing, which is as they should be.  Interesting how this doesn't make them harder to hear or appreciate, from drums to saxophones to sampling madness.  If the horns move into the foreground, you actually hear it to great effect.

The more "definitive" tracks--"Wolf Like Me," "Dirtywhirl," "Province,"--are beautifully enhanced, as expected.  But what knocked me out especially were tracks like "A Method," "Tonight," "Playhouses," etc., which really come into their own and don't sound at all like filler--these are stories that need to be told.  And it is bitter, deep stuff.  Of course, my personal favorite track still is "Blues From Down Here," which retains its haunting pulse and discordant intervals--again, the effect is enhanced in the vinyl experience.

This album has a lot of personal significance to me and Kelly.  I listened to it a lot during the tumultuous time when she and I first got together.  "Dirtywhirl," in my mind, will always be about her--dangerous, chaotic, and so beautiful that I can't help but get caught in her storm.  Love you!

Audiophile

[Originally Posted on Google+ on 07 August 2012]

I've rediscovered my love of music.  No, seriously.

A few months ago, I remember reading articles about Neil Young where he was...well, quite vitriolic about digital sound.  "Sounds like crap," he said, only I'm paraphrasing because I remember him being much more emphatic on the subject.  I put it aside, thinking it was one of those "grumpy old man" moments.  I mean, like everyone else I listen to my iPod, practically every day, and I am satisfied for the most part.  Knowing what I know about computers, compression, etc., I figured it was one of those cases where Neil and others had a bone to pick with digital where there was no discernible difference.

A few weeks ago, Rachel talked me into buying a Gabor Szabo album on vinyl.  I figured it was probably one of those out of print albums, probably never made it to CD, the last of a dying breed--and the track list was great.  I (quite literally) dusted off the turntable and put it on.  Holy crap!  Music was supposed to sound LIKE THIS.  Something clicked into my brain, like a long lost friend.  Gabor Szabo was there, playing guitar, right inside the room with me.  I'm not exaggerating.

The next thing I know, I'm thinking of all the albums I listen to a zillion times, the ones that I could listen to over and again without getting bored--these are albums that I really should be listening to on vinyl.  Not only that, but ACTIVE LISTENING, which is a skill I've only forgotten because of today's digital ADD (pun intended if you actually get it).

Kelly was very supportive of this project.  At The Beat in Sacramento, we ended up purchasing a number of albums that were on my "Vinyl Top 10."  We decided it would be an awesome idea to have a picnic, just the two of us, in the basement and simply...listen to records, the way people ought to.

Tonight's vinyl was "Infinite Arms" by Band of Horses.  The picnic food was rotisserie chicken, a yummy caprese salad, and red wine.  I felt like the entire experience was something holy.

At first, I was almost a little disappointed as I remember Creighton Barret's drums on "Factory" pounding like thunder in the digital version--the hook that sucked me right into the album.  Then, once the singing began, I realized how much more audible the lyrics were.  Those thunderous drums were now placed right where they should be--in the background, behind the singer, physically as well as metaphorically.  I don't think I had ever really heard all the lyrics before, not only that, but the singer's intake of breath, the interplay between the two guitar players, the bass player's fingers on the fret board.  What I had considered momentarily "lost" in the drummer's work on "Factory" was made more than whole by his work on "NW Apt.", a track I had considered mediocre before in digital-land.

Best of all, I felt like I was falling in love with Kelly, and music, all over again.