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How Vinyl Records Are Made
I could explain this with all of my wit and excellent prose, but why? Enjoy the videos!
Part 1:
Part 2:
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Topics: Vinyl Info | No Comments »
Calling all Green Day Fans…
Usually, life as Vinyl Revinyl’s main guy is pretty relaxed, and I guess that hasn’t changed, but I got some news for fans of Green Day. I got a press release from a manufacturer of vinyl records, and it looks like they’ve got plans to press the entire Green Day discography. What does that mean? Well! It means that you’ll be able to find your favorite Green Day albums on vinyl in the near future.
So, in addition to favorites like “Dookie” and “American Idiot”, you’ll be able to pick up their 7″ singles, and apparently a few box sets are also going to be released.
To be totally honest, I never really listened to Green Day a whole lot, but I do have Dookie, and it’s a classic, for sure. The new vinyl versions are gonna sound great, and still have that high energy, high tempo, poppy punk sound. So, if you love Green Day, keep an eye open for these records that going to be released soon.
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Topics: Music | No Comments »
Wow! Buddy Rich is Awesome!
So, the other day my friend Pandora radio played a song called “Time Check” from a drummer named Buddy Rich. I had never heard of him before, but I was immediately blown away. This was fast, loud, in your face swing. I had never heard swing with such a flair and such energy. I immediately bookmarked the song, and did a little research online…
So, it turns out that Buddy Rich was a child prodigy on drums, and apparently was able to hold a perfect rhythm before his 2nd birthday. Fortunately, he chose a career in music, and was able to produce a huge body of work during his career and play with many of the greats, including Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra.
I’ll admit that I am still pretty new to this guy. I picked up his 1973 album “The Roar of ’74”, which included the song “Time Check”, and I already love it. I’ve been playing it all day. I just need to burn a copy to play in the car. This album is from the 70’s and has a lot of rock/soul/funk influence. You’ve got electric guitars with wah, electric bass, some rhodes piano work, and Rich’s amazing drumming keeping the big band on their toes. You might hear this kind of music in a blaxploitation movie, but I assure you, this music is the real deal. In addition to the grandiose big band sound on some songs like Time Check and Nuttville, there are a few mellow songs on the album like “Kilimanjaro Cookout” and “Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters”. It has a solid 5-star rating on iTunes, and 4-stars on Amazon.
This is jazz with the intensity of rock, without being too trippy and harsh like many of the fusion people. I plan to explore this artist more, but for now, the Roar of ’74 is a winner!
For some straight-up drum insanity, check out this clip from the Tonight Show!
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Topics: jazz | 1 Comment »
New Music…Some Funk
As any music lover worth his/her salt would do, I’ve gotten a little tired of all of the music I have, and I’ve been trying to discover some new music. I thank Pandora, the awesome service I recommended in an earlier post for helping me along.
You know how you’re looking through your music, and you’re like “I’ve heard this too many times”, and you can never decide on what to listen to? That’s been my life lately. I’ll be the first to admit that while I love music, I am in no way well-versed on everything out there. You could spend a lifetime listening to music, and still not hear everything. When I get into this situation, I have to go out and explore. For me, the easiest way is to listen to the radio. Since I am not a fan of actual radio (The kind where you have to tune in, get static, suffer through inane morning shows, listen to poor local businesses and their god-awful commercials, and maybe hear something you like), I have been listening to Pandora a lot lately. Check it out if you haven’t, I’m super serial! Thanks to this great service, I have made several new discoveries that I am really excited about…
Sly & The Family Stone
I heard a few of their songs on the Pandora Funk station like “Sing a Simple Song”, “Stand”, “Family Affair”, and “I Wanna Take You Higher”, and I was hooked immediately. It is clear to me why so many people in the 60’s and 70’s fell in love with this group. The music is upbeat and funky, and just a blast to listen to. Unfortunately, the group only lasted for a few years, but when they were hot, they were hot. Call me a NeWb, but hey, I wasn’t even alive when this group was around. I have already burned lots of copies of it of for some friends, and everyone has been digging it. My best description is rock mixed with a little blues, a little jazz, some disco, plenty of soul, and psychedelia. Sound good? Check out a greatest hits album to get started, then look for the albums “Stand” and “There’s a Riot Goin’ On”. Sly & The Family Stone Vinyl
Parliament
Another find from the Pandora funk radio station. Of course, I have heard a few of Parliament’s songs on the radio and in movies, etc. and I knew they were the quintessential funk group, but I didn’t really know very much of their music. Parliament is in your face funky. I would say that they really invented the genre, and have no equal. Their influence is extremely noticeable, especially in west coast rap. In fact, my first exposure to Parliament was back in the early 90’s when Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were doing the G-Funk thing, and sampling Parliament in some of their hits. What I love about Parliament is that it’s like rock and jazz, but you can dance to it too. The bass and beats are heavy, you’ve got horns, plus the magic of the synthesizer filling out the other parts. If you want the bomb, you gotta make your funk the p-funk. Check out their hit album “Mothership Connection” for a taste of this lively music. Parliament Vinyl
So, there you have it. Just a few groups that you should pick up right now if you have an interest in funk. Get funked up, and enjoy the music!
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Topics: R&B & Soul & Funk | No Comments »
Music and Freedom
Here we are on a beautiful 4th of July–at least here in the United States, and the issue of freedom with regards to music comes to mind. We are quite lucky here in the US that music, for the most part, is a widely accepted and enjoyed. This isn’t to say that some music hasn’t come under criticism, such as Hip Hop or Heavy Metal, but we enjoy amazing artistic and consumption freedom. In other words, we are very free to create whatever kind of music we want and are free to listen to whatever music we like.
I know its fashionable to complain about America, on both sides of the fence: Liberals find the US too (whatever), and Conservatives find the US to (whatever else), and the rest, of course, find the US too (something else). However, one thing that most Americans can agree on is that our freedom of speech is one of our most important rights.
Believe it or not, so many people of the world do not have these express rights. In many parts of the world, certain forms of artistic expression are banned or discouraged. Certain people are banned from performing music, such as in Iran where women are not allowed to perform music in public. Western music has been banned in several countries, and its performance, recording or playback are criminal offenses. The Iraqi band Acrassacauda ended up leaving the middle east so they could perform their music without worrying about the death threats that plagued them while living in Baghdad. Before the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980’s, Western music was also widely banned.
Sure, these are the notable examples that horrify most Americans. Of course, there have been and continue to be many notable examples of music being censored in countries that stand for freedom. This isn’t hard to identify here. Music videos and the radio regularly feature music that has been censored. There have also been various movements calling for the censorship and banning of music, most notably putting the “Explicit Content” label on music that is considered explicit.
Whatever your thought on this form of censorship is, it is still important to recognize that while we do have some censorship of music, we are still in a much better place that many other people in the world. We are free to create and listen to music, and this is an important right. Let’s celebrate our freedom of creating and enjoying music this Fourth of July.
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Topics: Music | No Comments »
A Musical Day In The Life…
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty fanatical music lover. Not really the kind that has opinions on what you should listen to, but the kind who always has his headphones on. So, let’s take a look at a day in the life of me, and see what we can hear…
6:45 AM: I get up to the sound of ringing bells.
7:30 AM: I get into my car to drive to work. Most days, I’ll crank my stereo, but I’m not always in the mood for loud music this early. I usually enjoy some rock, jazz or r&b music, but not always. Today, I was listening to Sly and the Family Stone on the way to work.
8:00 AM: I arrive at work. Before I even set my computer up, I will pull out my iPod or iPhone.
8:15 AM: I have settled in to work, and have my music going. My taste varies quite a bit, but usually it will be some sort of jazz or rock. I’ll listen to music pretty much all morning. This morning, I enjoyed some Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix and Charles Mingus.
1:00 PM: I usually take my lunch around now. Most of the time, I turn the music off, then venture out into the web.
2:00 PM: Back from lunch, and sometimes back to my music. I don’t always listen to music in the afternoon, and today was one of those days. Had a lot of reading to do, so I cut back on auditory stimulation…
5:00 PM: Off work, and driving home. Most of the time, I’ll just keep listening to whatever I have playing in the car. I continued listening to Sly and The Family Stone.
5:30 PM: I get home. When I am cooking dinner, I will put on a record. Usually I’ll play it through once or twice. Tonight was Thelonous Monk.
8:00 PM: Dinner is done and I usually get back to work. In addition to my day job, and this website, I have several others that I own and work on. Many times, I just open up Pandora radio on my iPhone, connect it to my stereo, and listen to whatever. Lately, I have been enjoying the funk radio station on Pandora.
10:30 PM: I am usually getting ready for bed around now. I have been known to listen to music before bed, but the habit has sort of died off lately. I remember when I was in high school, I really enjoyed listening to the Doors before bed, although I do have a “Night time” playlist on my iPod that I occasionally listen to.
So, there you have it. A musical day in the life of me.
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Topics: Music | 3 Comments »