Today though both Yo Yo Records form Germany and All In Vinyl from the UK upped the pre-orders and you better be quick. It's limited to 300 copies.
Freitag, 3. August 2012
It's available!!!
The release date for DOWN AND OUTS' Forgotten Streets LP was July 23rd but if you've been anticipating this release as much as me you will already know it wasn't.
Today though both Yo Yo Records form Germany and All In Vinyl from the UK upped the pre-orders and you better be quick. It's limited to 300 copies.
Today though both Yo Yo Records form Germany and All In Vinyl from the UK upped the pre-orders and you better be quick. It's limited to 300 copies.
Negative Punch
I was recently informed that NEGATIVE APPROACH are coming over for a european Tour in October of this year and they will be accompanied on all dates by the fabulous PUNCH. Nice package! There are no dates set yet but there are rumours of an Oct. 5th date kicking off the tour in Berlin. Stay tuned for updates.
Sonntag, 29. Juli 2012
The Queen of Rock-a-Billy is back
Her 2003 Heart Trouble LP on Sympathy For The Record Industry is amazing and the latest output I listened to so far. The 2011 released The Party Ain't Over LP was on Third Man Records. Which as you might know was founded by Jack White. A guy I dislike very much. First of all because of this awfull band of his that everybody thinks is so cool while it's totally lame and boring which led to the general ungrounded hype around the dude. And secondly because I feel that he fucked up the 2004 release Van Lear Rose of the last still living Queen of Country. Of course Linda Gail Lewis is good and it was a pleasure to meet her on her Tour supporting the 2004 Boogie Woogie Country Gal release on Castle Records and Dolly Parton released some great records but they cannot hold a candle to either Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells or Loretta Lynn.
Although the CD release of Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose was on Interscope Records the Vinyl edition was on Third Man and Jack White mixed the recordings. I was so stoked on getting that release but listening to the CD was a total let down. That boy has no idea how to handle the recordings of a country legend. I think while going along he somehow aquired a bit of knowledge about how to mix his own music and this he applied to the latest Lynn output. It might be possible that I was distracted by the CD sound (when I first heard Earth Crisis' fantastic All Out War release on CD I didn't like it as well which later appeared to be a misconception due to the inferior medium) but I don't think that's the case although I feel an urge to give the LP version another try.
This experience had me disregard Wanda Jacksons 2011 LP The Party Ain't Over because as I already mentioned it's on Third Man. Which probanly means it was fucked up too. But brklnvgn tells us that there is hope. A new LP is in the pipeline and Sugar Hill Records is taking care of the release which seems to have a due date in October. It's supposed to have a back-basics approach that the producer for the Unfinished Business LP encouraged. Wanda being in favor of this might be saying that she was somehow not satisfied with her last record. Why else would you be changing Labels? Or is Third Man defunct? Didn't they just release some fancy stuff for Record Store Day? Whatever it is I'm siked for the new release.
And she has a few US Live Dates coming up over the next months plus one show in Berlin in Nov. Let's hope she adds some more. If not I might have to go on a little trip across the country.
08/10/12 Knucklehead's Saloon Kansas City, MO
08/11/12 Blueberry Hill St. Louis, MO
08/12/12 Hi-Tone Memphis, TN
08/17/12 Maxwell's Hoboken, NJ
08/18/12 Philadelphia Folk Festival Philadelphia, PA
08/31/12 Minnesota State Fair St. Paul, MN
09/01/12 Minnesota State Fair St. Paul, MN
09/02/12 Bumbershoot Festival Seattle, WA
09/12/12 The Square Room Knoxville, TN click here
09/16/12 WorkPlay Theater Birmingham, AL
09/28/12 Bartlesville Community Center Bartlesville, OK
10/12/12 Highline Ballroom NYC
11/9/12 Bassy Berlin, DE
Samstag, 28. Juli 2012
Reigning the East Coast
The Mighty OATHBREAKER are going to teach all you wimps at the US East Coast a lesson in heavy Hardcore. Attendance mandatory. Crucial lecture! ;)
Seriously now. Go check them out!! They are awesome!
Seriously now. Go check them out!! They are awesome!
BLONDEVO
Why oh why is this package not touring europe but the US in September? BLONDIE and DEVO on one night? Awesome!
Sept. 07 -Woodinville, WA - Chateau Ste. MichelleSept. 08 - Ridgefield, WA - Sleep Country Amp
Sept. 10 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield
Sept. 11 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
Sept. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Sept. 14 - Citrus Heights, CA - Sunrise Marketplace
Sept. 15 - Newport Beach, CA - Taste of Newport
Sept. 18 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Waller Creek
Sept. 19 - Houston, TX - Arena Theatre
Sept. 21- Tampa, FL - Stadium Green Iguana
Sept. 22 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amph.
Sept. 25 - Carmel, IN - Center for Performing Arts
Sept. 26 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
And brooklynvegan didn't just share the above information. They also posted 2 video clips and mentioned that the both of them released new music in the past few years. How could that have passed me by? Maybe I was working too much? Haha! So now there are 3 more releases of old legends on my wantlist one each for the last two years and one from this year:
Devo - something for everybody LP 2010
Blondie - panic of girls LP 2011
Patti Smith - banga LP 2012
Well, while downloading the covers from discogs I realized that I did see the Devo record in some record store. Can someone tell me why I didn't pick it up?
At least I recently got this fresh platter. Not exactly old legends but hey... whodidn't doesn't like Sleater Kinney?
Wild Flag -s/t 2011 LP
Devo and Patti Smith providing the best artwork with Wild Flag being to arty and Blondie just plain ugly. Sorry.
Sept. 10 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield
Sept. 11 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
Sept. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
Sept. 14 - Citrus Heights, CA - Sunrise Marketplace
Sept. 15 - Newport Beach, CA - Taste of Newport
Sept. 18 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Waller Creek
Sept. 19 - Houston, TX - Arena Theatre
Sept. 21- Tampa, FL - Stadium Green Iguana
Sept. 22 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amph.
Sept. 25 - Carmel, IN - Center for Performing Arts
Sept. 26 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
And brooklynvegan didn't just share the above information. They also posted 2 video clips and mentioned that the both of them released new music in the past few years. How could that have passed me by? Maybe I was working too much? Haha! So now there are 3 more releases of old legends on my wantlist one each for the last two years and one from this year:
Devo - something for everybody LP 2010
At least I recently got this fresh platter. Not exactly old legends but hey... who
Wild Flag -s/t 2011 LP
Devo and Patti Smith providing the best artwork with Wild Flag being to arty and Blondie just plain ugly. Sorry.
Robot World
or "The (Not So Promising) Future of Shitty Jobs: Meet your noodle-making robot..." as they titled this post on the always delivering Dangerous Minds Blog.
It's about a cheap-ass Robot that can do a shitty job way better and for a lot less money than any human could. Check out the link above if you want to know details.
However, what I am aiming at is the finishing statement of the article:
"The thought of a world population of over 7 billion people being increasingly put out of work by robots—the most menial jobs will be the ones to go first—is a rather bleak thing to contemplate isn’t it? Then again, maybe there’s an opportunity in all off this somehow? Who knows?"
Hell yes there is an opportunity in this. I don't think anyone is too passionate about working a straining, repetitive, monotonous, exhaustive job. I know that a lot of people still kind of like to do something like that because it gives them a feeling of being useful. Of being worth something or even being someone. Now this mindset I never understood. Do we really have to do something to be someone? Do we need a job to give us self esteem?
I truely believe that everything in this world has its own value just by being there. A value that you cannot measure or compare. The mere existance of anyone or anything goes along with the right to be treated with respect. You don't throw your waste into the woods, a river or out your car window for that matter. You don't just cut down a tree without reviewing other options to achieve your goal. You don't (ab)use animals for meat, dairy, leather, wool or anything else including zoos, circuses or your own little amusement at home where living beings are put into tiny glass cubicles or little backyard ponds. And you don't exploit humans for cheap labour. Be it kids in sweatshops, below minimum wage jobs that continuously are getting pushed further east or shit jobs (that don't earn you a living or burn you out) right here in the so-called civilized western world.
Another thing I believe in is that humans are born to be free and pursue their desires. To live means to learn. Learning means improving. And if you do that having in mind what I wrote in the paragraph above it will lead to a better world for every form of life. Of course there are certain needs to be fulfilled that will cause more or less harm to others. That's just the way it is. What makes the difference is how you go about getting where you want to be. Don't just disregard anyone and everything else. Work on accomplishing something in the least harmful way. Be ready to compromise. And before you do so think about wether it really needs to be done.
What's the use of all these different tech gadgets for example that actually complete the same tasks but differ in quality? It's such a waste of resources because a lot of these things break way too soon and end up in a bin not getting recycled. Not to mention the energy, labour and annoyance that acompanies the slow death of said things. Just like in healthcare I only want the best so why not make it affordable for everybody? What's all the differentiation about but making profit? Just look at the current situation in europe. That's what this state of mind comes too. It's inevitable. We actually did come up with a pretty good set of morals and yet in many ways we don't act too different from when we first started walking on two feet. With all the physical violence among people and corporations exchanging the bat with money. How can anyone not see this? We only think about me, my family, my community, my country and so on. What we don't see is that all of these things are just constructs that have been thrown around and reshaped over time. They are more or less arbitrary and heavily influenced by the way we live which in turn is influenced by where we live. And all of these separations are just means to divide and conquer. Now I don't believe in Any of the many conspiracy theories out there but there definitely are people who benefit from our quarrels and do everything they can to keep things the way they are.
Unfortunately those with the most power (aka money) at their disposal are the ones who could easily change a lot of things for the better but don't want to because it would mean less profit for them. But, and now we're coming full circle back to where this rant started, here we have a situation at hand that we could use for the well being of more than just 1% of the population. Of course at first it looks like a bad idea to put a lot of people out of work by replacing them with robots but as I said before we don't need the work. Just a little bit of money. Some time ago I read that the money that in Germany is spent on welfare combined with the money it takes to provide the bureaucracy and everything that comes with the process of deciding wether someone 'deserves' to get welfare or not is enough money to provide every german citizen with 1000€ a month if we would drop that whole concept. I have no idea on how to check if that is true or not but I deem it possible that this statement is not too far off if it is. Just think of the shitloads of our money the banks lost and are being refunded for out of our pockets again. Ok. A lot of that loot probably never existed. But they gave out credits anyway that were spent by people like you and me before they realized: oh shit we're not gonna get that back. And where did that money go? It's got to be somewhere. Just think of the billions of Euros pumped into Greece and now Spain. I don't want to go into this whole topic here but it amazes me to see that there actually is all this money available while we're facing more and more cuts in the social and cultural departments just to satisfy the markets aka the playgrounds of those who are pretty likely in the possession of the money we lost.
I still say people before profits and maybe when more and more people get replaced by robots we will wake up and see that there is not enough work for everyone to be employed the way we are now but that there very well is enough money for everybody to get live a decent life. Maybe then we will not blame theforeigners robots but redistribute the money that was wrongly amassed by a few ruthless individuals. And maybe then people will have the time for a little self-fulfillment. Be that as an artist, musician, dad, mom, scientist, carpenter, writer, nanny, designer or whatever people might enjoy doing when they don't have to do it 8 hours or more a day for 40 years. Maybe then every single person can live up to their respective potential and not just those who have the privilege to not be forced to support a familiy from an early age on or being restricted by their parents income.
This surely reads very idealistic and if you ask me how to accomplish all this I won't be able to come up with an answer because this is way too complex for a single human being to figure out. The answer is something that has to grow. And having robots take all the chores they can off our hands to me looks like a good step into the right direction. Perhaps then our capcities will be sufficient to work on a possible answer. Together.
(Of course I know that whole financial crisis thing is a tad more complex than I presented it but I, like many others probably, am not versed enough to grasp the whole thing which might play a role in why they are still getting away with it besides everybody being busy trying to survive the realities we have to face.)
However, what I am aiming at is the finishing statement of the article:
"The thought of a world population of over 7 billion people being increasingly put out of work by robots—the most menial jobs will be the ones to go first—is a rather bleak thing to contemplate isn’t it? Then again, maybe there’s an opportunity in all off this somehow? Who knows?"
Hell yes there is an opportunity in this. I don't think anyone is too passionate about working a straining, repetitive, monotonous, exhaustive job. I know that a lot of people still kind of like to do something like that because it gives them a feeling of being useful. Of being worth something or even being someone. Now this mindset I never understood. Do we really have to do something to be someone? Do we need a job to give us self esteem?
I truely believe that everything in this world has its own value just by being there. A value that you cannot measure or compare. The mere existance of anyone or anything goes along with the right to be treated with respect. You don't throw your waste into the woods, a river or out your car window for that matter. You don't just cut down a tree without reviewing other options to achieve your goal. You don't (ab)use animals for meat, dairy, leather, wool or anything else including zoos, circuses or your own little amusement at home where living beings are put into tiny glass cubicles or little backyard ponds. And you don't exploit humans for cheap labour. Be it kids in sweatshops, below minimum wage jobs that continuously are getting pushed further east or shit jobs (that don't earn you a living or burn you out) right here in the so-called civilized western world.
Another thing I believe in is that humans are born to be free and pursue their desires. To live means to learn. Learning means improving. And if you do that having in mind what I wrote in the paragraph above it will lead to a better world for every form of life. Of course there are certain needs to be fulfilled that will cause more or less harm to others. That's just the way it is. What makes the difference is how you go about getting where you want to be. Don't just disregard anyone and everything else. Work on accomplishing something in the least harmful way. Be ready to compromise. And before you do so think about wether it really needs to be done.
What's the use of all these different tech gadgets for example that actually complete the same tasks but differ in quality? It's such a waste of resources because a lot of these things break way too soon and end up in a bin not getting recycled. Not to mention the energy, labour and annoyance that acompanies the slow death of said things. Just like in healthcare I only want the best so why not make it affordable for everybody? What's all the differentiation about but making profit? Just look at the current situation in europe. That's what this state of mind comes too. It's inevitable. We actually did come up with a pretty good set of morals and yet in many ways we don't act too different from when we first started walking on two feet. With all the physical violence among people and corporations exchanging the bat with money. How can anyone not see this? We only think about me, my family, my community, my country and so on. What we don't see is that all of these things are just constructs that have been thrown around and reshaped over time. They are more or less arbitrary and heavily influenced by the way we live which in turn is influenced by where we live. And all of these separations are just means to divide and conquer. Now I don't believe in Any of the many conspiracy theories out there but there definitely are people who benefit from our quarrels and do everything they can to keep things the way they are.
Unfortunately those with the most power (aka money) at their disposal are the ones who could easily change a lot of things for the better but don't want to because it would mean less profit for them. But, and now we're coming full circle back to where this rant started, here we have a situation at hand that we could use for the well being of more than just 1% of the population. Of course at first it looks like a bad idea to put a lot of people out of work by replacing them with robots but as I said before we don't need the work. Just a little bit of money. Some time ago I read that the money that in Germany is spent on welfare combined with the money it takes to provide the bureaucracy and everything that comes with the process of deciding wether someone 'deserves' to get welfare or not is enough money to provide every german citizen with 1000€ a month if we would drop that whole concept. I have no idea on how to check if that is true or not but I deem it possible that this statement is not too far off if it is. Just think of the shitloads of our money the banks lost and are being refunded for out of our pockets again. Ok. A lot of that loot probably never existed. But they gave out credits anyway that were spent by people like you and me before they realized: oh shit we're not gonna get that back. And where did that money go? It's got to be somewhere. Just think of the billions of Euros pumped into Greece and now Spain. I don't want to go into this whole topic here but it amazes me to see that there actually is all this money available while we're facing more and more cuts in the social and cultural departments just to satisfy the markets aka the playgrounds of those who are pretty likely in the possession of the money we lost.
I still say people before profits and maybe when more and more people get replaced by robots we will wake up and see that there is not enough work for everyone to be employed the way we are now but that there very well is enough money for everybody to get live a decent life. Maybe then we will not blame the
This surely reads very idealistic and if you ask me how to accomplish all this I won't be able to come up with an answer because this is way too complex for a single human being to figure out. The answer is something that has to grow. And having robots take all the chores they can off our hands to me looks like a good step into the right direction. Perhaps then our capcities will be sufficient to work on a possible answer. Together.
(Of course I know that whole financial crisis thing is a tad more complex than I presented it but I, like many others probably, am not versed enough to grasp the whole thing which might play a role in why they are still getting away with it besides everybody being busy trying to survive the realities we have to face.)
Freitag, 27. Juli 2012
Vinyl. Music. Culture.
Oh yeah! That's what it's all about. And here is Eilon Paz using those words as a subheader for his website DUST & GROOVES. So naturally I was curious when I got my nose pointed in his direction. If you're like me and those few choice words attract you as much as they do me I strongly urge you to check out all the awesomeness this guy captures in his interviews with record collectors from all over the world and the according photos. Way interesting and beautiful in every way I tell you.
And on top of all that he has an even bigger project coming up. He wants to make an 8x8" Photography book for which he will embark on a 2 month tour across the US in September. Now that's not going to be cheap and it seems he doesn't have the funds but if you like the idea you can donate to his kickstarter campaign. There are different rewards available that you can choose from according to the amount you put in. I just tried to do that but I don't have a credit card and therefore couldn't complete the 'check-out'. Seems like my wife will have to take care of that for me.
14 days left on the kickstarter campaign. Be quick, support and repost!!
And on top of all that he has an even bigger project coming up. He wants to make an 8x8" Photography book for which he will embark on a 2 month tour across the US in September. Now that's not going to be cheap and it seems he doesn't have the funds but if you like the idea you can donate to his kickstarter campaign. There are different rewards available that you can choose from according to the amount you put in. I just tried to do that but I don't have a credit card and therefore couldn't complete the 'check-out'. Seems like my wife will have to take care of that for me.
14 days left on the kickstarter campaign. Be quick, support and repost!!
European measures
Anyone closely following my drivel might remember me suggesting you to check out BETTER TIMES from Buffalo, NY. So far I know about two Tapes they released and one of those gets a euro 7" release on Commitment Records now. Pre-orders are up and they even had the Test pressings available for 5€ but those sold out while I was writing this. Anyone astonished about that? Not me!
The US release of the record is right around the corner but not available yet. Or am I catching a wrong drift here and they only get their share of the Commitment pressing shipped? Well whatever it might be the Tapes and some nice merch items are still for sale in their store.
In case you don't know what the buzz is about hit their bandcamp but before you do so make sure there's nothing close by that can't be replaced easily. Chances are you will break out your sickest mosh moves right away when the tunes hit. Did I mention they're straight edge and deliver solid lyrics?! Well, there you go.
Though I guess they are not vegan because it's not mentioned on their merch. Haha. Bummer. Anyways. Youth Crew still lives in 2012!! Support it!
The US release of the record is right around the corner but not available yet. Or am I catching a wrong drift here and they only get their share of the Commitment pressing shipped? Well whatever it might be the Tapes and some nice merch items are still for sale in their store.
In case you don't know what the buzz is about hit their bandcamp but before you do so make sure there's nothing close by that can't be replaced easily. Chances are you will break out your sickest mosh moves right away when the tunes hit. Did I mention they're straight edge and deliver solid lyrics?! Well, there you go.
Though I guess they are not vegan because it's not mentioned on their merch. Haha. Bummer. Anyways. Youth Crew still lives in 2012!! Support it!
Donnerstag, 26. Juli 2012
Sideshow
I don't know why people are into live recordings. There's not one I can think of that I like. Well except for some of the Flipper stuff because they feature genuinly different versions of their songs and I hardly if ever listen to those. So what's the point? I just don't get it.
Yet I know that out there somewhere there are people into that kinda stuff. So for all of you here's interesting news about the mighty RINGWORM. They are going to release their first ever live record Stigmatas In The Flesh 12" on A389 Records and you can stream a song of that Album here on the Labels soundcloud account.
I don't know if this really is the cover but if so I like it.
Yet I know that out there somewhere there are people into that kinda stuff. So for all of you here's interesting news about the mighty RINGWORM. They are going to release their first ever live record Stigmatas In The Flesh 12" on A389 Records and you can stream a song of that Album here on the Labels soundcloud account.
I don't know if this really is the cover but if so I like it.
The crazy Russian
In Effect posted a brilliant interview with Jimmy Kontra who sang for a brief period in Agnostic Front before Roger and had his own band Virus released on Rat Cage Records. If you're into NYHC you better read this because he is one of the original punks. Hanging out on the LES before there even was AF or Cause For Alarm or any other band that you can think of falling into the category of NYHC. It was the time of The Stimulators, The Mad, Kraut, etc.
Jimmy: "NYHC, please….the term was “hardcore punk”. Who made up NYHC, I don’t know but it’s a bullshit term"
As much as I like that statement I have to say it was The Abused, one of my all time favorites, who might not have invented the term but most probably did a lot to establish it. Anyways. Go get another crucial lesson in hc-punk history!!
Jimmy: "NYHC, please….the term was “hardcore punk”. Who made up NYHC, I don’t know but it’s a bullshit term"
As much as I like that statement I have to say it was The Abused, one of my all time favorites, who might not have invented the term but most probably did a lot to establish it. Anyways. Go get another crucial lesson in hc-punk history!!
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