Category Archives: In The Bins

B-Sides in the Bins #14 – Chicago Suburbs 8/6/07

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Sherry and I were in Chicago last weekend for an esthetician’s conference. When I say “Chicago” I should say the suburbs– we stayed at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort where the conference was held. I did some Googling to find what record stores were in the area and I found two that were worth visiting.

The first one we hit was Remember When Records (309 W Ogden Ave, Westmont, IL 60559 (630) 963-1957). This place is one that I would have liked to spend more time. Unfortunately they are not open on Sunday when Sherry was at her conference and I had more time alone. She hung out like a trooper for a while while I dug through the vinyl. They had a combination of used and new. I saw the new Ryan Adams and the Cardinals Easy Tiger colored vinyl that I was tempted to pick up. They also had Tonight’s the Night sealed and really pricey 200g Living With War. I was hoping to spot some Thrill Jockey vinyl since this was Chicagoland and all. They had Town and Country’s 5, but that was it. Apparently there is a whole basement full of vinyl to look at as well as the six or so bins upstairs. They had a bunch of 45’s, too. I’d recommend hitting this place if you visit. I didn’t end up purchasing anything.

The next day I was on my own so I hit Frugal Muse (7511 Lemont Rd., Darien IL (630) 427-1140) In Chestnut Court Shopping Center, Frugal Muse is really more of a book store than a music store– it reminded me of Half Price Books. They had seven tables and a rack of CD’s split into Rock and R&B, Jazz/Blues, Classical, Country, World Beat, Hip Hop/Electronica, New Age and Children’s. A pretty decent selection of used CD’s. They also have a table of overstock items for really cheap. There are a number of crates on the floor under the CD tables of vinyl. Most of it was priced pretty reasonably. I recommend hitting this place, too. Here’s what I picked up:

Bombs Away Dream Babies – John Stewart (LP, RSO Records RS-1-3051, 1979) ($0.93) Former Kingston Trio signs with Robert Stigwood to make rock album with friends Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Dream Babies yields three Top 40 singles with “Gold” marching to #5. This album has Buckingham’s unmistakable fingerprints all over it. Actress Mary Kay Place (“Big Love,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”) lends her vocals to “Over The Hill.” I didn’t know that she sang! Razor and Tie released a CD version of this in 1994 which is now out of print and going for well over $50 and upwards of $100! I’d like to have this on CD, but not for that price!

In The Weeds – Bo Ramsey (CD Trailer Records trailer 10, 1997) ($0.93) I already own this CD, but I felt compelled to “rescue” it from the cheap bins! Features guest vocals on “Desert Flower” by Lucinda Williams. This is a different version of the CD than the one I bought from Bo when he played the park in Marion in 1997. This one has a different running order and cover. “Desert Flower” and “Ain’t It Hard” are flipped and the cover art has brown type instead of the purple on my original one. Different mastering credits, too. On Bo’s site they say that the U.S. release of In The Weeds has an improved running order, so maybe the one I originally bought is the European version?

Tiny Voices – Joe Henry (CD Anti- 86683-2, 2003) ($6.98) I’ve been a casual fan of Joe Henry’s since his Short Man’s Room album from 1992 backed by the Jayhawks. Over the years Joe has transformed himself from an Americana to a sort of R&B/Jazz artist. Tiny Voices is his most recent solo record. It seems he has concentrated his efforts on producing lately including working on the critically acclaimed Bettye LaVette album I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise, Aimee Mann’s boxing concept album The Forgotten Arm, and the Alan Toussaint and Elvis Costello album The River in Reverse. I always keep my eye out for his work in the bins.

Demolition – Ryan Adams (CD Lost Highway 088 170 333-2, 2002) ($5.98) A collection of outtakes and demos from Alt-Chameleon Adams. A mixed bag of country crooners, rockers and sleepers. I’m planning to complete my collection of Adam’s catalog out of the used bins. I have a few left to go…

Black Hole – Love Tractor (CD Fundamental Records 8 AD, 2005) ($5.98) Love Tractor was a band that I was introduced to (as many were) in the movie “Athens, GA Inside/Out.” I was struck by the brave naive sound of a band that created instrumental works while clearly not having mastered their instruments. The results were at once simple and unique. At that time I was in a band struggling to carve a sound in a similar fashion and felt a kind of kinship to them. Love Tractor has gone through as many lineups as record labels and these days the only remaining member from those early days is Mike Richmond. These days Love Tractor sounds more like a jamband than anything else. Black Hole is the first part of a trilogy that includes last year’s Green Winter.

B-Sides in the Bins #13 – Cedar Rapids 7/11/07

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Tuesday was new release day, and we had a couple of examples of the recent practice by record labels of including Bonuses to incent Joe Recordbuyer into purchasing. Two of the more interesting releases were Interpol‘s Our Love To Admire and Spoon‘s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and both had bonus material available. Interpol had a 7″ single of “The Heinrich Maneuver” with an instrumental version of “Mammoth.” These were available via independent record resellers. Spoon had a version available of their new CD that had a bonus disc of what appears to be demos and outtakes titled Get Nice. It isn’t clear to me which stores/outlets had this version. Target was the only Sunday supplement that mentioned the bonus CD. The other advantage of purchasing this from Target is that this week it is $7.98!

Unfortunately, the bonus CD didn’t include a tracklisting! I could only identify one song, which was a demo-sounding, stomping (literally) version of “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb.” When I ripped the disc with iTunes, it actually came up with a track list for this release. Either the label did this, or a very informed fan. For the folks who are concerned, here is the tracklisting for Get Nice:

1. I Got Mine
2. Be Still My Servant
3. Leave Your Effects Where They’re Easily Seen
4. I Summon You (Cool)
5. Mean Mad Margaret
6. Love Makes You Feel
7. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
8. Tasty Fish
9. Dracula’s Cigarette
10. 1975
11. I Can Feel It Fade Like An AM Single
12. Curfew Tolls

While I was looking for some information on these releases, I stumbled into a really cool blog dedicated to vinyl and bonus releases called SixtyWatt. One to add to the RSS reader.

B-Sides in the Bins #12 – Cedar Rapids 5/24/07

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I had a couple of trips to Half Price Books in Cedar Rapids that yielded a couple of interesting things.

Laughing Stock – Talk Talk (CD Polydor 847 717-2, 1991)($3.00) This is a CD that has been on my “if I ever see one” list. Laughing Stock was the last formal release from Talk Talk and commercially their biggest flop. Talk Talk started their career in the synth-pop arena with bands like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Communards, and Japan. The soulful vocals of Mark Hollis catapulted singles like “It’s My Life” (later covered by No Doubt) and “Talk Talk” into the top of the world’s singles charts. Following the success of their 1986 album Colour of Spring Hollis changed the direction and sound of the band into a more Jazzy, improvized sound that sparked the end of the band. Laughing Stock and its predecessor Spirit of Eden are in retrospect considered “Post Rock” and the earliest examples of this sound. After the split-up of Talk Talk Hollis would record a solo album that is a continuation of the sound established by the last two records. I really enjoy this album and am happy to have it in my collection. I’m not sure that I think this album fits in the “post rock” genre, but it has the same melancholy acoustic feel as David Sylvian‘s Secrets of the Beehive which is my favorite of his catalog.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop – A History of the Hip-Hop Generation – Jeff Chang (Hardback Book St. Martin’s Press ISBN 0-312-30143-X, 2005)($7.98)(MSRP $27.95) This is a heck of a deal! I love finding stuff like this at HalfPrice. This is probably the best book on the history of Hip-Hop. I’ve just started reading this, but already it has been an eye-opener. I can see that this will be a reference for me later. If you get a chance to pick one of these up at HalfPrice I recommend it.

B-Sides in the Bins #11 – Cedar Rapids 5/14/07

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Prestige Jazz – Various (CD Starbucks Entertainment/Concord Records FSP-1504-2/CDS-055, 2007)($13.95) Okay, I’m a sucker. When I’m on the road for work I drink Starbucks Coffee. When I’m standing in line waiting for my ventelattefrappecappuchino I look at the CD’s conveniently placed next to where I have to wait for my order. Usually I don’t see anything that I haven’t heard before or I would be particularly interested in. When I was in Austin last month I stumbled across a title that I initially resisted temptation over. However, the urge became too strong and I found it in Cedar Rapids. The CD is called “Prestige Jazz” and is a compilation of 50’s and 60’s jazz artists from the venerable Prestige label which during its heyday was as big a deal as Blue Note.

“Prestige Jazz” is a compilation of songs from the likes of The Modern Jazz Quartet, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy and Sonny Rollins and is one of the first releases on the controversial Starbucks Entertainment label. You may have heard about Starbucks Entertainment in the press recently as it will be releasing Paul McCartney’s next album.

The packaging is really smart– white with the familiar 1960’s Prestige logo on it– it drew my eye immediately from between the other CD’s. Nice pop-artish graphics and beautiful photographs of the artists from the Michael Ochs Archives. Each song has a little paragraph talking about the song and the artist. Certainly a great primer for Jazz neophytes.

The release is sort of a cross promotional deal as it is a compilation of the recent remastering that the Prestige titles are going through by Rudy Van Gelder who recorded some of the great Jazz albums from that period. Of the songs I’d only heard “Django” by The Modern Jazz Quartet and “Like Someone In Love” by John Coltrane before. A nice addition to my small-but-growing Prestige collection and gives me ideas for other titles to look for. A good Jazz compilation when you need a jazz mix as well.

Looking at the website, it looks like they have a Riverside comp as well… another ventiwhitechocolatemochawithwhip please…

B-Sides in the Bins #10 – Minneapolis/St. Paul 3/31/07

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Last weekend Sherry, Rae and I went to Minneapolis so they could participate in an in absentia baby shower. Sherry’s aunt was throwing a baby shower for her daughter who lives in the Phoenix area and couldn’t be in Minnesota for it. So, all of the relatives in the Twin Cities got together with the requsite baby shower gifts, games, and food. Everyone shows the gifts and at the end they are boxed up and shipped. A neat idea that Sherry’s mom did for Sherry’s aunt a long time ago.

At any rate it meant that Sherry’s uncle and I were effectively kicked out of the house for four hours. The plan on this very rainy day was to hit Cheapo’s on Snelling in St. Paul and, if there was time left, hit the Cheapo’s on Lake in Uptown. Both of these locations have vinyl stores attached to them.

The trip to Snelling was a bust. I hit the vinyl location hoping to find some Tortoise. They had the In The Fishtank release from Tortoise and the Ex and The Brave and the Bold collaboration with Bonnie “Prince” Billy. I flipped through the New Arrivals and saw some interesting stuff like Journey Through the Past from Neil Young which is a soundtrack to an evidently strange movie Neil produced in 1974 under his nom de film Bernard Shakey. I contemplated picking this up, but it was kind of pricey for what I thought the quality was. In retrospect I should have picked it up since it hasn’t been released on CD. Looking at the tracklist, though, it might only be notable for the 16+ minute studio version of “Words.” The trip to the CD store was disappointing. It appears that the New Arrivals section has dwindled to two tables. I quickly flipped through the week of arrivals and found nothing of note except for Money Mark’s new one. Sherry’s uncle picked up a Temptations Greatest Hits comp.

The stop at Lake was much better. I visited the vinyl store which is called Vinyltopia. Boy, is it ever! This store is the basement of the CD store and is probably the same square feet. I knew right away that I better not spend too much time down there– I’m sure I could blow an entire day flipping through those bins. I hit the Tortoise section with no luck and flipped through the New Arrivals, but nothing jumped out at me, so I made my way upstairs.

Neon Bible – Arcade Fire (CD Merge MRG285, 2007) ($9.98) There just seems to be so much talk about this album I thought I’d give it a closer listen. I didn’t like Funeral that much, so I kind of wrote this band off. So… I think the album is pretty good. It improves with multiple listens, but does anyone else hear E-Street Era Bruce Springsteen in this?? I don’t think it is just the glockenspiel. I think it is the pumping percussion and the soaring choruses. Especially “Keep the Car Running.” “Every night my dream’s the same. Same old city with a different name. Men are coming to take me away. I don’t know why but, I know I can’t stay.” That could have been penned by Bruce. I guess in the pop canon there are worse artists to emulate. Well, except for that last Killer’s album.

Return to Cookie Mountain – TV on the Radio (CD Touch and Go/Interscope B0007466-02, 2006) ($8.95) Man, “Wolf Like Me” is just one of those great songs. Best song about lycanthropy— ever! My wife loves that song as well. I thought it was time to add this one to the collection. This version of Cookie Mountain has three bonus tracks: “Snakes and Martyrs,” a remix of “Hours” by El-P, and “Things You Can Do.” We’re howling forever…

In Search of the Lost Chord – The Moody Blues (CD Deram 42284 4768-2, 1968/1997) ($5.95) This CD completes my collection of the essential first seven Moody Blues albums from the second and more notable version of the band. From the period of 1967 to 1972 the Moody Blues released an astounding seven albums with two albums coming out in 1969. The Lost Chord is the second of these albums and includes the singles “Voices in the Sky” and the concert favorite “Ride My See-Saw.” The Moody Blues defines my childhood as my family and especially my dad were big fans and most family excusions included cassettes from the Moody Blues. This is the 1997 “Digitally Remastered” version of the album. I read online that Justin Hayward is finishing up re-releasing the first seven albums on SACD with bonus material. I’ll be looking into these to see if they are worth picking up.

The next four CD’s were a happy find for me. The “missing” pre-Geffen Reprise-era Neil Young albums. These have been out-of-print for many years mostly due to Neil’s tendency for perfection but likely also due to his crotchety nature. Since the first discussions of the Decades III/Archives releases in the mid- to late-Nineties the fans had been asking for these albums to be re-released. Neil said in an interview that he had been holding off on releasing these because to date he hated the mastering that had been done to his catalog for CD and that the vinyl versions of his albums sounded superior to them. Apparently with the advent of HDCD Neil is satisfied with the sound of CDs. Still to be released are the soundtrack to “Journey Through the Past,” and Time Fades Away. In the case of Time Fades Away, there was an HDCD release set up and sent out as promos, but the release never materialized.

On the Beach – Neil Young (CD Reprise 48497-2, 1974/2003) ($5.95) In my opinion, this is the best of the four re-releases. On The Beach is part of what is known in the fan circles as “The Ditch Trilogy” which includes Tonight’s The Night and Time Fades Away. Following the huge success of “Heart of Gold” from Harvest, Neil felt it was necessary to move from the middle of the road to the ditch– per the liner notes in Decade. The resulting block of three albums are all similar in their darkness in themes. A friend of mine from Dubuque who was a huge Neil fan made me a cassette of On The Beach and American Stars ‘n Bars that I took with me to Louisiana during a computer installation. The loaner car I drove had a cassette deck in it and I listened to that tape non-stop during my treks between New Orleans and Houma where the two locations of the installation were. “Walk On”, “See the Sky About to Rain,” and “On the Beach” are my standout favorites.

American Stars ‘n Bars – Neil Young (CD Reprise 48496-2, 1977/2003) ($5.95) Another good release from what tends to be considered very unbalanced releases. Neil in a more country mode. Stars n’ Bars and Hawks & Doves benefit from having tracks pulled from the aborted Homegrown and Chrome Dreams albums. Notable tracks include “Like A Hurricane,” “Will to Love,” and “Homegrown.” Beautiful backing vocals from Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson. Emmylou Harris sings on “Star of Bethlehem.” Amazing pedal steel by Ben Keith. The cover art was done by buddy Dean Stockwell.

Hawks & Doves – Neil Young (CD Reprise 48499-2, 1980/2003) ($5.95) Another folkie-country release. This album is also a collection of tracks recorded at different times dating back to 1974. Standout tracks “Little Wing,” “The Old Homestead,” and “Captain Kennedy.”

Re-ac-tor – Neil Young (CD Reprise 48498-2, 1981/2003) ($5.95) The last of the Reprise releases before Neil jumps to buddy David Geffen’s label for eight years. That move to Geffen ended with a lawsuit accusing Neil of not sounding enough like himself. Admittedly, the Geffen catalog has Neil experimenting in different styles. Neil brings the Horse back for the first time since I guess Zuma. This is probably the weakest of the re-releases. Although it sounds like Crazy Horse, it doesn’t have any of the substance that previous efforts showed. Standout tracks are “Shots” and “Southern Pacific.”

Live at Amoeba Music – TV on the Radio (CD Touch & Go/Interscope B0008324-32, 2007) ($5.98 + shipping) I didn’t get this from Cheapo’s. I got this from Amoeba online. This is a limited-edition 4-track CD of TVotR’s in-store appearance from September last year. A good addition to my collection. As frantic as the band sounds on their album, they have even more energy live. Tracks: “Blues From Down Here,” “Wolf Like Me,” “Province,” “Wash The Day.”

Stuff I put back: Old Ways – Neil Young– I think I might be able to pick this up later, World Without Tears– Lucinda Williams, Por Vida – A tribute to Alejandro Escovedo.

B-Sides in the Bins #9 – Cedar Rapids, IA & eBay 3/24/07

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I really wasn’t expecting to do any shopping today. Due to my daughter’s car needing to be dropped off at Tires Plus for a strange banging noise and my wife wanting to do some clothes shopping at Lindale I found myself with some time so I hit CDWarehouse.

I walked in and immediately spotted the spine of the new Low CD Drums and Guns in a stack of used CD’s on the counter. While I hadn’t planned to pick this album up, I couldn’t pass on a new release! I verified that it was for sale and asked to have it put aside and started over to the $1 CD’s and made my way through the LP crates and then through the CD’s.

Before I checked out I spent some time talking to John Fisher who owns the store. A great guy to talk to and is pretty passionate about music and music retail. We talked a lot about sales on the Internet versus the brick-and-mortar retail. He is well aware of what his competition is. He is located next to a Best Buy and his prices will typically compete with Best Buy on new releases. He can also place special orders, which Best Buy has no interest in doing. His perspective on his very low vinyl prices is that he needs to compete with eBay on the “non-collector” vinyl. He is also competing with HalfPrice Books who gets their inventory fortified by their other locations. I have to say that I was surprised about the turnover he had in his vinyl so it will continue to be a stop for me. John is also brokering his inventory through Djangos Music which is pretty smart. He said that he has moved a lot of inventory that he wouldn’t normally move just due to the limited audience in Cedar Rapids for the more obscure items. Times are really tough for the independent music seller so it is good to see someone still willing to figure out how to stay viable! Stop by there if you get a chance.

Drums and Guns – Low (CD Sub Pop SPCD 736, 2007) ($7.99) This CD came out this Tuesday. Evidently the previous owner didn’t appreciate the new direction Low is taking on their eighth album and second for Sub Pop. Low has been around for quite a long time in Indie terms with their first release in 1994. Low is known for their slow tempo style sometimes called “Slowcore” and this album is continuing this style albeit with more distortion on the guitars and more sound effects. This album leaked on the Internet early in January and I had those mp3’s. At the time I thought that what was leaked must have been a demo due to the really strange mixing of the vocals mostly in the right channel but this CD has that, too. I need to spend more time with it, but I think it is a grower. I should get the rest of the Low catalog.

Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (2 CD Warner Bros, R2 73882, 2004) ($9.99) Another great find today! This one has been on my Amazon and lala.com want lists for a while. This is a BMG pressing of the CD, which I would normally pass over but it is in Mint condition. This is probably the sixth copy of Rumours I have owned on CD in my life. When I got my first CD player back in the late 80’s Rumours was one of the first CD’s I purchased. (other titles bought that first day were Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits, Hot Rocks 1964-1971 by The Rolling Stones, and Graceland by Paul Simon). I’ve lost three copies to other people– ex-girlfriends mostly. When I was around nine or ten I got a stereo from my parents with an 9-track and had a mix of Rumours and the self-titled prior release that Dad made for the car that I listened to constantly. Dad had an 8-track recorder and used to dub copies of the 8-tracks he bought. This album has been with me my whole life it seems and around for important events. When my wife and I got married in 2000 our invitations had lyrics from the beautiful Christine McVie-penned “Songbird” and Sherry and I had our first dance as a couple at our reception to it. This release has the appended “Silver Springs” that was originally the b-side to “Go Your Own Way.” The controversy surrounding this song has been documented in other places, but this song was another song about the breakup of Buckingham and Nicks. It was pulled from the Rumours tracklist because it was too long and the band preferred “I Don’t Want To Know.” This song resurfaced for the out-of-print The Chain boxset. If I remember right, Mick Fleetwood really pushed for this song to be included in the boxset at Stevie’s initial hesitance. The song was brought back as a single for the reunion album The Dance. The popularity of this song influenced its inclusion in the DVD-A release of Rumours in 2002, and then for this 2004 release. Sonically, I don’t think that this release is much of an improvement over the other pressings of this album on CD. The second disc of bonus tracks and demos serves mostly as an interesting view into the creation of this album and not really something you’d spend a lot of time listening to.

In The Sun – Archer Prewitt (CD Carrot Top SAKI 015, 1997) ($7.99) Another surprise find for me. I’ve had this one on my want list for a long time. This was the missing CD in my Prewitt collection. Archer Prewitt, for those of you who aren’t familiar is a core member of The Sea and Cake. Prewitt’s music is similar to The Sea and Cake, but differs from Sam Prekop’s solo works. Sam has a whispery vocal approach and tends towards a jazzy feel. Prewitt sounds like early breezy Seventies pop. I hadn’t heard any of the tracks off this album before today, but fits right in with his other albums. The Sea and Cake feels more like a Prekop vehicle and Prewitt takes a backseat in that band in my opinion, but he seems very comfortable in his role in the center stage on his own songs.

Afoot – Let’s Active (Vinyl EP I.R.S. SP70505, 1983) ($1.99) Let’s Active was the band fronted by 80’s college rock uber-producer Mitch Easter who I’ve mentioned on here before. According to Mitch, Afoot was an experiment of sorts. I.R.S. let Mitch record and release a record of his own after the success of the first two R.E.M. albums he produced with Don Dixon. This EP had a hit in “Every Word Means No” and even had a video on MTV. This will sit comfortably with my Game Theory vinyl. Mixed by Scott Litt who would later produce six of the best R.E.M. albums from Document through New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

90125 – Yes (LP ATCO 90125-1, 1983) ($1.99) It’s interesting to note that this album was released the same year as Afoot. They seem years apart. Sadly this album hasn’t aged as well as Afoot, however. All of those really nasty “orchestra hit” synthesizer patches and compressed and gated drums peg this album squarely as an early 80’s pop album. Still, this is one of my favorites. Probably the only album in history that is named after its catalog number. I had purchased this album on cassette in 1983 or 1984 largely due to the singles that this record spawned and the videos that were shown on USA’s “Night Flight” and WTBS’s “Night Tracks” shows (no MTV in Bellevue, IA back then!). This album follows the critically-panned Drama album that had the Buggles members Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes on vocals and keyboards. Drama was the only Yes album without the distinctive vocals of Anderson. Horn and Downes left after the Drama tour. Chris Squire and Alan white formed another band with guitarist Travor Rabin called Cinema which eventually Jon Anderson joined which allowed them to honestly call the band Yes. Most of the pop-geared single tracks were penned by Rabin and most of the vision of the record comes from him. Production was handled by Trevor Horn, who by this time had produced some significant albums on the ZTT label including Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Art of Noise and lent a similar big sound to 90125.

Freedom – Neil Young (LP Reprise 25899-1, 1989) ($1.99) This LP has a cover that has a large patch where the printing has torn off, but the front looks good and the vinyl is good. Freedom marks the triumphant return-to-form for Neil on Reprise after his “lost” period on Geffen. Freedom started life as another album titled Times Square which was to be a louder album in a more Crazy Horse vein. Apparently the label didn’t hear a single so Neil went back to the drawing board and selected the best tracks from the Times Square sessions and added three new songs including the smash “Rockin’ In The Free World” in electric and acoustic versions the way Rust Never Sleeps had “Hey Hey, My My” and “My My, Hey Hey.” Many consider Freedom to be a complimentary release to Rust. A number of the tracks pulled from Times Square ended up on a Japanese/Australian EP called Eldorado. I got a copy of Eldorado from a Japanese student who brought one back with him after a break. I consider Freedom to be one of Neil’s finest moments on record.

Aerocalexico – Calexico (CD Our Soil Our Strength, 2001) ($9.99 + $2.50 Shipping) I got this as a Buy-It-Now this week. I’m very happy about this one as it is the last of the Calexico tour-only CD’s I needed. This one is probably one of the best of the series. I think it is great that Calexico pulls these collections together and makes them available to the fans. Some standout/notable tracks are “Pretty White Horses,” the Christmas track “Gift X-Change” and the instrumental track to “Humana” which was the “collaboration” with Goldfrapp on the “Human” remix from Felt Mountain Revamped album. This is still available from the Calexico site for $16

Things I didn’t buy: Franz Ferdinand’s debut CD in special packaging and included a bonus disc, Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome to the Pleasuredome on LP. They were playing a CD by Dressy Bessy that was pretty interesting– it was their 2002 release Sound Go Round. I’d heard mention of them but wasn’t familiar with them. Worth checking out I think. You can hear tracks at their Myspace page.

B-Sides in the Bins #8 – Cedar Rapids, IA 3/11/07

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Happy Daylight Savings! Today I needed to get my oil changed which usually entails leaving my car at the oil change place and figuring out what to do for a couple of hours. I decided to go visit the used CD stores in the area. I ended up at Half Price Books and got some good deals. Really, Half Price Books has some of the best vinyl selection in Cedar Rapids. Ratz Records downtown has the most vinyl, but Half Price has the best quality selection in town.

Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (2 LP Warner Brothers 2HS 3350, 1979) ($5.98) Tusk in so many ways is one of my desert island discs. My dad bought this when it came out on cassette. Since this is a double album it came on what would be a 90-minute cassette. This ultimately means that the tape is thinner and more susceptible to failure. We bought two copies of this tape as we wore them out. The second copy wore out and I used a cassette repair kit from Radio Shack to fix it. Looking back I’m amazed that they had cassette repair kits! The plastic liner would wear out from the hubs so I cracked the tape open and moved the tape and spools over to a new case and liner. I bought this on CD when it came out and was punished with a shortened version. Back in the day they could only make 78 minute CD’s and so Warners made Tusk with an edit of “Sara” which is crazy since that was one of the singles. Or, maybe they got the edit from that… Brilliant record which was considered to be extravagant noodling from a band losing its direction or allowing Lindsey too much creative control. In hindsight, this is the White Album of my generation. According to the sleeve, this was $15.98 MSRP!! My copy is super clean. I need to get that remastered 2-disc version one of these days. I’m still looking for clean versions of the other Buckingham-era LP’s. My childhood pressed into shiny black plastic. I also own the Camper Van Beethoven “tribute” to Tusk which is recommended as well.

“Heaven or Las Vegas (edit)” b/w “Dials” and “Heaven Or Las Vegas (album version)” – Cocteau Twins (12″ Capitol/4AD SPRO-79427, 1990) ($1.98) This one was mistakenly stuck in the Rap section with all of the other lonely Rap white label promos. I really didn’t need this as I have the “Dials” track as a CD promo and as part of the extra disc in the maroon Cocteau Twins box set released by Capitol in the early 90’s. For $1.98 I couldn’t pass it up. Maybe this needs to be eBay fodder for someone who is a completist. The cover has major spine injury and someone wrote on it– this is a promo so some radio station had it in its library. The vinyl is very clean. The Heaven or Las Vegas album is pretty much the pinnacle of the Cocteau Twins catalog in my opinion. I saw them that tour in Chicago at the Metro with my friend Urban who turned me on to them that previous year. That album was one of my “makeout” favorites from that year.

Idle Moments – Grant Green (CD Blue Note 7243 4 99003 2 5, 1999) ($3.00) This one was in the “Clearance” section of the CD’s. Part of the “Rudy Van Gelder Edition” remasters of the formidable Blue Note back catalog. Originally released in 1963 as Blue Note BLP 4154. I have decided that I’m going to purchase whatever Blue Note CD’s I stumble across. Grant Green is an amazing jazz guitarist and probably considered the earliest of the groove jazz players. I first became aware of Grant Green due to his inclusion in the Blue Note Grooves compilation from the 90’s. Lots of Blue Note titles were pillaged for the Acid Jazz movement and Blue Note countered with releases of the more popular tracks. Blue Note also sponsored an Acid Jazz sampling effort in US3 which also used Grant Green’s “Sookie Sookie” in its first album. This is a nice, mellow album with two superb renditions of the Modern Jazz Quartet’s “Django.” This release includes two outtakes that are extended versions of “Jean De Fleur” and “Django.” Very cool find. One funny note about this release is that it still has the price sticker from the Record Collector who includes the date it was bought as used. Some time after 5/2004 it was sold for $12.00.

“The Stratocaster Chronicles – Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat” – Tom Wheeler (book Hal Leonard Corporation ISBN 0-634-05678-6, 2004) ($19.98) The original MSRP on this one was $50. Hardcover coffeetable book on the history of the Fender Stratocaster with a forward by Eric Clapton. Includes a CD with samples of the Strat in action as well as interviews with Leo Fender and others. A Fender fan myself, I couldn’t pass up this title. Thank God for Half-Price Books. Nice pretty pictures of the guitar that changed the face of music.

B-Sides in the Bins #7 – Iowa City, IA 2/22/07

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My wife and I were back down in Iowa City for a doctor’s appointment, so I got to visit the Record Collector. Here’s what I picked up.

Meadow – Richard Buckner (CD Merge Records MRG279, 2006) ($12.00) I wanted to pick this up so I could become acquainted with his music before the Monday night show at the Picador that– if the blizzard subsides– Sherry and I are planning to go to with some other friends that are Six Parts Seven fans. I’m planning to review that show. This album is apparently one of two that Buckner has recorded in a more rock vein. This album employs members of Guided by Voices, Cobra Verde, and the Mekons as the backing band. The album is boozy rocking affair sounding like equal parts Replacements and Wilco.

“Town” from Meadow

I finally bought the 1996 12″ Tortoise remix series. I had been bidding on incomplete sets on eBay that were getting up over $10 apiece. I’d seen some of these in the bins at the Collector previously. This particular set was dropped from $8.00 to $6.00 apiece in January so I was pretty happy to get a deal on these. I already have all of these remixes on the 1998 US release of Remixes, but it is cool to get the vinyl. I guess I’m going to collect all of the vinyl I can. You may notice that although these were released as a set, there is a missing “12.2” apparently Thrill Jockey snuck a 12″ in the middle called “Beware Soul Snatchers” from a short-lived band called Rome.

Djed – Tortoise (12″ Thrill Jockey 12.1, 1996) ($6.00) This is the second pairing of Mo’Wax and Tortoise as this has an UNKLE remix of Djed “Bruise Blood Mix”– the other being the inclusion of a “A Source of Uncertainty” on the Mo’Wax compilation Headz 2 which is a remix of “Why We Fight.” I’ve never been able to ascertain whether this was a DJ Shadow or Tim Goldsworthy remix as they were both part of Lavelle’s project UNKLE. Shadow certainly did the UNKLE remix of “Where It’s At” by Beck, and he joined in 1995 so its possible. The flipside of the UNKLE remix is “Tjed” a remix by John McEntire from Tortoise. The McEntire track is much more of a deconstruction than the UNKLE version is.

Music for Workgroups, the Oval Remixes – Tortoise (12″ Thrill Jockey 12.3, 1996) ($6.00) The two tracks on this release are “Bubble Economy” and “Learning Curve” and are alternately credited as remixes by Markus Popp who does work under the monikers of Oval and Microstoria. According to this interview with Popp, these tracks are not remixes of particular tracks like the other Millions 12″ releases. He said that he doesn’t treat his works as particular tracks but as “data.” So he asked Tortoise to give him as much sound data as possible and they sent him two CD’s worth! It was from this material that he created the two tracks here. I gather from the interview that this is inaccurately credited as an Oval track as it doesn’t have Sebastian Oschatz on it.

Rivers – Tortoise (12″ Thrill Jockey 12.4, 1996) ($6.00) The first remix of “Along the Banks of Rivers” is “Galapagos (Version One)” from Drum ‘n’ Bass/Jungle producer duo Springheel Jack. I really like this track. I always assumed they called this track “Galapagos” due to the giant tortoises (get it?). However, there seems to be two more versions of “Galapagos” on other releases from Springheel Jack that don’t to my ear sound like they are related in any way. The flip is “Reference Resistence Gate” by the frighteningly prolific Jim O’Rourke. His take on the track takes some of the lighter chiming parts of “Rivers” and delivers a stuttering drum beat over the atmospherics.

The Taut and Tame – Tortoise (12″ Thrill Jockey 12.5, 1996) ($6.00) The first remix is of “The Taut and Tame” by Warp artist Luke Vibert. The flipside is a remix of “Wait” which was a song that Jeff Parker brought to Tortoise. The remix is done by former Tortoise member Bundy K. Brown.

Until next time…

B-Sides in the Bins – #6 – Cedar Rapids, IA 1/26/07

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I had been contacted by Allen from the Six Parts Seven as a result of adding them as a “friend” on MySpace regarding their upcoming tour opening for and backing Merge artist Richard Buckner which will be rolling through Iowa, stopping in Des Moines and Iowa City. A couple of years ago a friend of mine turned me on to the Six Parts Seven (helpfully abbreviated 6P7 by all of the cool kids) and for a bit I was catching up on them and had considered seeing them when they hit Des Moines back then. Somehow I missed that they had a new album that came out on Tuesday. So, I called up one of the few remaining dedicated record stores in Cedar Rapids which is a CD Warehouse, they had the 6P7 new album Casually Smashed To Pieces. I had them hold it for me and I made a trip over there. I picked up some other titles while I was there. They have a small collection of used vinyl, and they have their used and new titles mixed together with a dedicated $1 section, which sometimes has good stuff.

Casually Smashed to Pieces – Six Parts Seven (CD Suicide Squeeze S-052, 2007) ($12.99). Only one copy in stock. First listen is pretty good. I think that Six Part Seven can be safely categorized as an instrumental post-rock group. Stay tuned for a record review and probably a review of their live show at the Picador in Iowa City on 2/26. According to their MySpace page they are also going to do a Daytrotter Session on the 25th, so we can look forward to mp3 goodies from that.

Get a special MP3 EP from Six Parts Seven which includes two tracks from their new album.

999 Levels of Undo – Steve Fisk (CD SubPop SPCD460, 2001) ($1.00) One from the bargain bin! Steve Fisk is possibly best known for his work in the instrumental group Pell Mell. He joined the band when they moved to SubPop as a keyboardist. Steve has had a pretty substantial solo career in electronic music and also does production work regularly. This album has one track with Pell Mell bass player Greg Freeman credited with “relocated fractal bass applications” titled “Amateur European.” Mostly an electronic album, but has Kim Thayil from Soundgarden on a couple of tracks as well. In place of a standard CD booklet, there are separate unbound pages with re-interpretations of the bizarre cover art by other artists on one side and song information on the other. Interesting album, but mostly because I collect Pell Mell-related releases.

Mad Love – Linda Ronstadt (LP Asylum SE-510, 1980) ($1.99) One from the crates of used LP’s that this store carries. Mad Love was an attempt for Ronstadt to ride the wave of late Seventies/early Eighties popularity of “edgy” woman artists like Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry and others. I bought this one because it was one of my favorite tapes that Dad bought at the time. I used to listen to this one non-stop. At the time I would have been twelve. The album had three charting singles from it at the time: “How Do I Make You” (#10 on US Pop Charts), “Hurt So Bad” (#8 on US Pop Charts), and “I Can’t Let Go” (#31 on US Pop Charts) (Wikipedia entry on Linda Ronstadt). My favorite song on the album was her cover of Neil Young’s “Look Out For My Love.” At the time I didn’t know that this was a Neil Young song– nor would I even know who Neil Young was!

This album has a number of interesting details. It is produced by Peter Asher from folk act Peter and Gordon who went on to produce albums from James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Newman and 10,000 Maniacs. The album itself is made up of cover songs. In addition to the aforementioned Neil Young cover, it includes songs from L.A. New Wave/Power Pop group the Cretones, whose guitarist and principal lyricist and vocalist Mark Goldenberg provides guitar and background vocals for the entire album. There are three covers of Elvis Costello songs that he publically expressed his distaste for. The sessionmen on this album list like a who’s who for L.A. at the time: Russ Kunkel on the drums along with Danny Kortchmar who were part of “The Section” and seemed to be on everyone’s album at the time. On background vocals was Kunkel’s late wife Nicolette Larson– who incidentally took a cover of the Neil Young song “Lotta Love” up the charts in 1979. Still a favorite record of mine.

Stuff in the bins I didn’t buy for $1. Just Say Yo and Just Say Mao which are really great samplers of the Sire catalog from the early Nineties. Very cool remixes and other odd tracks from bands like Depeche Mode, Book of Love, The Smiths, etc. I might still go get them as lala.com fodder. Cool Down Time from Dan Zanes. This is the first solo record from former Del Fuegos frontman. Great record, sounds like the Del Fuegos for obvious reasons. Produced by Mitch Froom who did the Fuegos records. I haven’t been too interested in his children’s records that they sell at Starbucks. I guess they are supposed to be parent-friendly. Also possibly good lala.com fodder.

B-Sides in the Bins – #5 – Tower Records in San Jose, CA

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If you’ve been reading any of the bigger blog sites like Stereogum or Idolator, you are probably aware that the Tower Records chain of music stores is closing and the end is in sight. In these last days the locations are having progressive sales. In the beginning, the sale prices weren’t that great since most of the titles at Tower were $15.99 and higher! I was in San Jose last week for business and I made it a point to hit a Tower while I was there. I visited the Tower Blossom Hill off Highway 85. According to the website, this location is infamous for a “surprise” appearance of Metallica in June of 1996.

I made it to the store some time after 8 PM on Thursday, December 14th. All CD’s in the store were at 70% off and DVD’s were at 60% off! Rap titles were $1.99 apiece. The store was very picked over, while there was some organization left in the original bins, there were additional bins scattered throughout the store that weren’t organized in any fashion– so it was cratedigging through those. The in-store audio was playing David and David’s Welcome to the Boomtown album which was appropriate in a kind of ironic way. One of my justifications for this run was to get some Christmas gifts, so I’ll be leaving a couple of things off in case the recipients are reading, however unlikely that might be.

Everything All The Time – Band of Horses (CD SubPop SPCD 690, 2006) (List $14.99, Paid $4.00) There were a bunch of copies of this one in the bins. Band of Horses was a big deal earlier this year, and I liked what I’d heard, so I picked this up.

‘Sno Angel Like You – Howe Gelb (CD Thrill Jockey Thrill 167, 2006) (List $15.99, Paid $4.80) The only copy of this in the bin. I reviewed this CD last spring glowingly. I had borrowed this to review it and wanted to get a copy for myself.

Around – Tom Verlaine (CD Thrill Jockey Thril 174, 2006) (List $15.99, Paid $4.80) I haven’t had a chance to hear this, yet. This is the instrumental album he released this year which is considered to be the follow up to Warm and Cool, which Thrill Jockey re-released this year.

Megaforce – 707 (CD MTM Classix 0681-99, 2004 – Italian Import) (List $31.99, Paid $9.60) This is a guilty pleasure, I guess and a surprise find. Megaforce was 707’s third album and included the theme song to the 1982 movie of the same name starring a very blonde Barry Bostwick. I was at some party my Sophomore year of high school with some Seniors who were playing this tape. I went to Musicland in Dubuque shortly afterwords and bought a cassette for myself. This was a tape that got a lot of play while riding around in my ’74 Firebird. 707 sounds like a cross between Journey and REO Speedwagon, which might be due to the fact that Kevin Cronin was a fan and got them signed to a label and Jonathan Cain helped write the song “Megaforce.” I’d been wanting to get this on CD for a while, but it quickly fell out of print. This is an Italian import and contains bonus tracks of additional “incidental” music from the movie. Recommended if you like motorcycles that fly.

…until we felt red – Kaki King (CD Velour Recordings VEL 0604, 2006) (List $15.99, Paid $4.80) This was a CD that I had forgotten about until I saw the very distinctive cover. Kaki King is mostly known as an instrumental guitarist, but on this album she does some singing and adds a band. This album is produced by John McEntire who is from Tortoise and the Sea & Cake. As a result, this album sounds a lot like those bands. It also seems to have moments of shoegazing similar to the Pale Saints. Pitchfork gave this album a damning 4.7, somewhat unfairly. This sounds like an album from an artist trying to expand her sound. Very listenable.

Son – Juana Molina (CD Domino Recordings WIG176, 2006) (List: $16.99, Paid $5.10) I first read about Juana Molina in the July 2006 issue of “The Believer,” which was their annual music issue and came with a CD. In the magazine was a very interesting interview. The album is an eclectic mix of Argentinian pop and electronica according to the sticker on the sleeve. Juana says in the interview that she is very influenced by sounds around her. She evidently imitates birds and other animals in her music. I can’t wait to hear this one!

All-in-all a good haul. I could have left with much more, though. Other titles I saw but didn’t pick up included: Don Dixon’s new The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room, an SACD of The Black Orpheus by Vince Guaraldi (still kicking myself), the 2 CD Deluxe edition of Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend (multiple copies), Grant Green’s Greene Street, the expanded reissue of Spoon’s Telephono, *many* copies of the Flaming Lips’ At War With the Mystics, Japanese import slipcase edtions of Springsteen’s The River, and The Clash’s Sandinista, and many copies of the MSTRKRFT album.

If you get a chance to, you should hit a store. I read someplace that when a location closes, they have a 90% sale!