Tuesday, July 25, 2023

My Record Label, with caveats

 In his weekly Indie Mixtape email, music critic and author Steven Hyden introduced the idea of a Record Label Draft. This is how it works: You are starting a record label. You get five picks. You can pick them in any order, but you must have one of each category, as listed below. Also: This is not an all-time draft — you are picking artists/bands as they stand right now. (You are not allowed to pick Led Zeppelin circa 1971.) The categories are below in bold with my responses below in bullets. My friend Ray over at raysmusings.com tagged me in this concept and I will do my best to rise to the occasion and obey the parameters. But no promises. I like what I like and don’t want to compromise haha!


Sacred Cow — A band or artist you sign purely out of personal love. 

  • There are so many possible choices for this one. Powerhouses is great renown like Alanis Morissette, Jennifer Nettles, Over the Rhine. This list could be endless in the what-ifs. But Nerina Pallot gets the choice spot. I have followed her music career for 22 years now. Seven studio full length albums. Three studio “tour albums” that are either covers or re-worked songs from the album she is on tour promoting. Twenty seven EPs and a smattering of non-album soundtrack compilations and non-album singles. She releases music in the way in which I consume it and for that she firmly secures the sacred position on my imaginary label. 


Prestige Artist — Someone who doesn’t do big commercial numbers but gets great reviews and/or is a legacy act.

  • Nikka Costa has never released a poor album. Even Pro*Whoa grew on me over time. Ranging from rock and funk to pop and lush string orchestrations she can do it all. Always a critics darling and a dedicated fan base she just hasn’t fully smashed the main stream yet. 


High Streamer — Someone who is largely ignored by the media but does big streaming numbers.

  • The band Garbage at the time of writing this gas 514,950,322 streams on Spotify since their music was added in 2011. I know from my forum memberships most of their fans buy the physical product and being slightly indie those sales figures are harder to locate and not worth my time for the means of this blog. Everything they release contains a quality level unmatched by other bands of the 90s and early 00s and I would find it to be the greatest honor to have them on my label and allow them to make exactly the kind of art they want to make. With all the wild promotional tactics that make them memorable. 


Solo Artist 28 Years Or Younger — A person with a lot of potential upside that you can lock in for a long time.

  • Jensen McRae had the voice, the presence, the words, the musical knowledge and Melodie’s to be a household name. She is only on her debut and still garnering so much press and becoming an absolute critics darling and dream. I am excited to see what’s next on the horizon for her as the album of songs she released this year were all written in 2017-2018. Following her on TikTok we know she has almost 3,000 songs written and demoed from her bedroom studio. She won’t hurt for content in her career I can assure that. 


Band with three or fewer albums — Same as above but a band. (I take "same" to refer to potential upside rather than 28 years or younger). 

  • The super group Pistol Annies (Ashley Monroe, Miranda Lambert, and Angaleena Presley) secure this spot. They have three studio albums and one holiday album. I cannot accept the holiday album as a breaking point for the three albums or less metrics because it’s not exactly something that can be played year round and so shouldn’t be counted in the summer when I am writing this. These ladies have the vocal chops, the song writing ability, and are an absolute master class in self promotion and drawing in their fan base. They have never done more than a three date tour as their band and I think that is a loss. I have seen them on tour doing a 25-30 minute set during Miranda Lambert’s arena tours and let me be the one to inform you that the whole arena erupts with joy. It’s a palpable sweeping feeling throughout the venue when they take the stage. The cheering and screaming is louder. The amount of singing along is stronger and louder.  These ladies could easily tour as a trio based off their material and the songs they’ve co-written for their solo albums. Hands down I would bring them onto my label and help them start booking a true tour and spread their gospel to the world. 



Monday, February 22, 2016

Millie Jackson LIVE IN TOKYO

Manufactured by Polyder K.K. Japan. (Promotional Release Only)
Recorded live at Yubin Chokin Hall in Tokyo on December 2nd, 1975

This album was a promotional release in 1975 following Millie Jackson's tour in Japan.   It is a HIGH QUALITY vinyl pressing.   Copies of this record are extremely rare as well.  I've included some notes about the process involved with these types of vinyl pressings, but since that's boring except to audiophiles like myself I've kept it at the bottom of the page.    But onto the good stuff... I've had this record in my collection for a while and it's become clear that after 40 years chances are this album is never going to see an official release.  Since it's never been sold and is only a PROMO item Millie Jackson isn't losing any sales figures... however I'm hoping that by sharing this it "promotes" sales of her albums to new fans.   It was ripped direct from vinyl and is shared here in 320 kbs MP3 format.  Enjoy!!


1.  Introduction
2.  Ask Me What You Want/I Gotta Get Away/I Just Can't Stand It/I Miss You Baby/Ask Me What You Want Reprise  (This is a Medley)
3.  Love Doctor
4.  How Do You Feel (The Morning After)
5.  It's All Over (But The Shouting)
6.  My Man Is A Sweet Man
7.  Leftovers
8.  What Am I Waiting For
9.  I Still Love You (You Still Love Me)
10. Now That We Found Love
11. On & On
12. Lovin' Arms

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Japanese vinyl releases are premium quality pressings, much sought after by audiophiles and collectors alike. In the 1960s Toshiba pioneered top quality red vinyl pressings using their trademark ‘Ever-Clean’ process this utilised a special ingredient intended to prevent the build-up of static electricity on the vinyl. Japanese pressings are synonymous with quality - the vinyl shines like no other vinyl everything about their releases feels special. When US audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab first released their series of high quality pressings the records were manufactured in Japan. The sonic quality of Japanese pressings is considered to be among the best in the world and, in addition, they are beautifully presented, their covers usually printed on better quality heavy stock paper and often including a bonus lyric insert with dual language Japanese & English text. As with most other countries, Japan produced promotional LPs in advance of the commercial release for marketing purposes. There are numerous different forms of promotional LP; these vary from plain white labels simply bearing a catalogue number to customised white labels similar in design to the finished label copy but without any of the colour or artwork - basically just a white label with black print. The most common forms of promotional LP are those that appear to be finished stock albums, but on closer inspection are designated promotional on the label. Whilst some actually state ‘Promo or Sample’ in English, most of these simply display the Japanese Kanji character set equivalent.


Nearly all Japanese LPs were issued with an ‘obi’ - literally translated this means ‘sash’ and is derived from the obi (sash) worn around the traditional kimono dress. This delicate paper strip, usually wrapped around the left side of the album cover, often contains marketing information and album content details, all printed in Japanese kanji and ~kana script. Obi designs can be as varied as the LPs they adorn, and some series’ of obi designs can be as collectable as the artists’ albums they decorate. However, not all promotional LPs were issued with the obi - the LP was often distributed before the obi was produced - it is rarer to find a promo with an obi than it is without one, especially on first pressings. They are more common on promo copies of reissue albums as the timing is not quite so important as for a brand new release so there was more time to put the whole package together. The rarest Japanese promotional LPs are those designed with exclusive custom picture sleeves, often compilations of previously released tracks issued to the media as a reminder of back catalogue success prior to the launch of new material, or an impending Japanese tour. These retrospective LPs can be the crowning glory of any collection and they rarely come up for sale. They are often some of the most expensive LPs to obtain, with prices ranging from £50 to £1500 for the extreme rarities...!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings Calamity / Ain't Nobody 7" Vinyl Rip

Recently the legendary Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings put out a record called Give The People What They Want (which is amazing go buy it).  Part of the promotion for this album was an exclusive Pre-Order 7"  Vinyl 45 record with two unreleased tracks Calamity and Ain't Nobody as the b-side.  I'm loving both of these tracks and find it mind boggling how they could have been left off the record itself, or even the deluxe edition.  So far the tracks haven't made their way onto the internet as converted MP3s ... until now.  Enjoy!




320 KBS MP3 VINYL RIP


Calamity


Ain't Nobody



Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Just BE Just BE Just BE!!




Paloma Faith Fall To Grace (iTunes Deluxe)
256CBR m4a


Here is the iTunes version to Paloma Faith’s 2nd album titled “Fall To Grace”. Deluxe edition includes 5 acoustic tracks.  Enjoy this one.

Description: The incredible Paloma Faith returns with her brand new album ‘Fall To Grace’, Paloma wrote and recorded ‘Fall To Grace’ in London in 2011/2012. The album is produced by Nellee Hooper (Bjork, No Doubt, Massive Attack, Madonna) along with Jake Gosling (Ed Sheeran). ‘Fall To Grace’ is the follow up Paloma’s debut album ‘Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?’ which was released in 2009. Her first album sold over half a million copies and spawned the hit singles “Stone Cold Sober”, “New York”, “Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful?” and “Upside Down”.

Track List:

1 Picking Up the Pieces
2 30 Minute Love Affair
3 Black & Blue
4 Just Be
5 Let Me Down Easy
6 Blood Sweat & Tears
7 Beauty of the End
8 When You’re Gone
9 Agony
10 Let Your Love Walk In
11 Freedom
12 Streets of Glory

13 Picking Up the Pieces (Acoustic Version)
14 30 Minute Love Affair (Acoustic Version)
15 Black & Blue (Acoustic Version)
16 Just Be (Acoustic Version)
17 Agony (Acoustic Version)

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Melody Gardot - The Absence




The Absence

320kbs MP3

Tracklist:
01 – Mira
02 – Amalia
03 – So Long
04 – So We Meet Again My Heartache
05 – Lisboa
06 – Impossible Love
07 – If I Tell You I Love You
08 – Goodbye
09 – Se Voce Me Ama
10 – My Heart Won’t Have It Any Other Way
11 – Yemanja
12 – Chegue Journeyman (Hidden Track)

Bonus:  Track By Track Commentary by Melody Gardot  (stunning!!!!!)
 



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Anyone who reads this blog or knows me for any length of time knows I've been a fan of Melody Gardot's since she was a brunette and had to sit in a chair to perform because of her injuries.  I must admit this album is real music to its core.   She literally traveled all over the globe and has picked up a lot of music traits from many cultures and infused them with her own brand of Vocal Jazz. Hints of tango and bossa nova, morrocan drums, african song chanting, elements of Parisian jazz and more. This is her most stunning piece of work to date and I really didn't know how she was going to trump My One and Only Thrill.  Just wow.  Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hunger Games Soundtrack





Artist: VA
Title Of Album: OST - The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 And Beyond
Year Of Release: 2012
Genre: Indie Rock/Indiepop/Alt. Rock/Folk
Bitrate: 320K/s 44100Hz Joint Stereo
Total Time: 58:19 (min:sec)
Total Size: 134,2 MB

Track Listing
-------------
1. Arcade Fire – Abraham`s Daughter [03:21]
2. Birdy – Just a Game [04:00]
3. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Daughter`s Lament [02:45]
4. Glen Hansard – Take the Heartland [02:44]
5. Jayme Dee – Rules [03:26]
6. Kid Cudi – The Ruler and the Killer [04:32]
7. Maroon 5 – Come Away to the Water (feat. Rozzi Crane) [05:12]
8. Pistol Annies – Run Daddy Run [02:44]
9. Neko Case – Nothing to Remember [02:57]
10. Punch Brothers – Dark Days [03:52]
11. Taylor Swift – Safe & Sound (feat. The Civil Wars) [03:58]
12. Taylor Swift – Eyes Open [04:03]
13. The Civil Wars – Kingdom Come [03:41]
14. The Decemberists – One Engine [03:00]
15. The Low Anthem – Lover Is Childlike [04:14]
16. The Secret Sisters – Tomorrow Will Be Kinder [03:24]


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