So Far / So Good... ??? 2020

This year, whew, worst year ever probably, just a crusher. At least there's been some music to consume, with the art of listening required for involvement. Ah, listening. Anyhow, hopefully you've been opening your ears and minds to some good vibrations. The list below is the 2020 installment of So Far / So Good. I wish everyone a safe and productive next couple of months. The last few have been personally brutal. I realize summer's moving toward autumn. I want more summer warmth but let's put this year in the rearview, while never forgetting that progress is still needed. Music can soothe the soul, we're gonna need it.

So Far So Good has been a long running account of the records that've grabbed my ear through the first half of each year. Later on I complete the list as we travel around the sun (So Good So Far). Thank you musicians for sharing your music. Here's to the future... 

Best Records So Far:
* Enemy Radio - Loud Is Not Enough - "Food As a Machine Gun", "Lock Your Wheels"
* Margaret Glaspy - Devotion - "Killing What Keeps Us Alive", "Stay With Me", "Devotion"
* MMJ - Waterfall II - Still Thinking, Climbing the Ladder, Run It, Wasted, Welcome Home
~ Courtney Marie Andrew - Old Flowers - "Burlap Strings"
~ The Jayhawks - XOXO

Honorable Mention:
~ Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - All the Good Times
~ Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels
~ Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - Temple
~ Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways
~ Perfume Genuis - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
~ Caroline Rose - Superstar - "Feel the Way I Want" - synth-pop, dance music, Beck-like
~ Ben Seretan - Youth Pastoral - "Power Zone"
~ Ray Lamontagne - Monovision


Amazing EP's: 
~ Rubio - La Perdida - EP - edgy, electro-drip, lush vocals, strings, hypnotic, Sade-like, "Nudo"
~ Skull Crusher - EP - "Places / Plans" - one of the best songs of the year
~ Zsela - EP - "Ache of Victory"
~ Kaash Paige - EP - "Frank Ocean"

Thanks for checking in. Be kind out there.

80choices

Baby Blue

The 13th Floor Elevators | "(It's All Over Now) Baby Blue" | Easter Everywhere |

Leave your stepping stones behind, there's something that calls for you
Forget the dead you left, they will not follow you
Your vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
The sky too, is falling, over you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue
     - Bob Dylan


eightychoices.

Record Store Day < April 16th > 2016

April 16th, 2016 | Your Turntable is Not Dead!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... April 16th is just around the corner, so too is your favorite local record store. Once again I'll be waiting out front of The Last Record Store. It's always fun to be a part of the magic that occurs on vinyl's biggest day. The Bay area is blessed with a host of shops that will hopefully have the pressed gems you're looking for. 

Record Store Day has a plethora of options, as the list continues to grow year after year. Releases from Børns, Bowie, Johnny Cash, J. Dilla, Bob Dylan, Etta James, Matthew E. White and Jimi are just some of the treasures catching my eye. A couple of those are 45's, while others are LP's. The  Jimi's Smash Hit will be a RSD 1st offering. Keep in mind there are three vinyl categories every year. They are: RSD exclusives, RSD 1st and Regional/Limited runs. Exclusives are only available on Record Store Day. RSD 1st means that its title will get "special treatment" on Record Store Day, but will be available for mass consumption at a later date. The last category is self-explanatory. For more information and the complete list, click here. 

There are three selections that I will be aiming for the morning of the 16th. I'm not even sure I should be divulging these precious (say it in your best Gollum voice) records. James Brown, Johnny Cash (different title than the one previously mentioned), and the White Stripes are at the top of my list. I'm not quite sure if  the White Stripes BBC double LP will make it to Sonoma County. The James Brown wax is a live recording and the Johnny Cash title is an homage to his TV show. Support your local record store.

eightychoices. 

The List—Record Store Day '15

RSD | April 18th, 2015

Your turntable is not dead. The List has been unveiled and this year's batch is heavy on reissues and 7" vinyl. Once again there are three categories; Record Store Day exclusives, RSD limited run/regional focus, and RSD First releases. Choice selections from some of the pillars of American music are in abundance this year. The Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Otis Redding, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash all have rare, live, or monumental material ready for audiophile consumption. There are of course many more choices to digest from the Record Store Day menu.

Neko Case's, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, easily makes my list of hopeful scores. I love this album and it has long been out-of-print. Dylan inventory always weighs heavily on my personal scale. If I can find it, and then afford it, I'll look to pick up The Basement Tapes in mono (180g). When I Reach My Heavenly Shore, a 3LP collection of black gospel from 1926-1936, has the potential of a lost treasure, waiting to be appreciated. All three of the albums mentioned fall under the category of RSD exclusive. This means that they will only be released on April 18th, 2015.

Two options from the RSD first grouping are at the top of my wish-list. RSD firsts are available on Record Store Day and will then be released at a later date on black vinyl, with non-exclusive, standard-artwork. The White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan, has never been offered commercially on wax, until now. Sign me up as the guy who bolts directly for this. Disc one will be pressed on red vinyl and disc two on white. Built To Spill's latest effort, Untethered Moon, will also be available, with 500 random copies on transparent blue vinyl. Whew...

Support your local record shop. See you in line on April 18th at the Last Record Store.

eightychoices.

Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes

The ever deep lyrical canon of Bob Dylan will be given new life. Jim James, Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett and Rhiannon Giddens (of the Carolina Chocolate Drops), just to name a few, have been gifted the opportunity to compose the music that will surround the words of Dylan. Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes, will be a showcase similar to that of the Mermaid Avenue volumes as performed by Billy Bragg and Wilco. This collaborative effort will be released November 11th. These Zimmerman lyrics were written during the Basement Tapes era of 1967. There will be two versions released; a standard edition housing 15 tracks and an additional 20-song deluxe version. Showtime will be airing a documentary of the recording process on November 21st. Allowing other artists access to untouched songs is more than a generous offer, it's an opportunity to cultivate creativity from one of America's greatest songwriters. For more on the physical records click here.

"Nothing To It" | Lost On the River: The New Basement Tapes



Track Listing (Deluxe): 1. Down On The Bottom 2. Married To My Hack 3. Kansas City 4. Spanish Mary 5. Liberty Street 6. Nothing To It 7. Golden Tom—Silver Judas 8. When I Get My Hands On 9. Duncan & Jimmy 10. Florida Key 11. Hidee Hidee Ho #11 12. Lost On The River #12 13. Stranger 14. Card Shark 15. Quick Like A Flash 16. Hidee Hidee Ho #16 17. Diamond Ring 18. The Whistle Is Blowing 19. Six Months In Kansas City (Liberty Street) 20. Lost On The River #20

NOTE
Soon there's going to be a more complete version of the original Basement Tapes released featuring the man who penned these written treasures, along with The Band. It doesn't get much better. Hitting the road this fall, Dylan will make multiple three night stays across the U.S. One of which is in Oakland at the Paramount Theatre. For a complete list of tour dates click here.

eightychoices.

Record Store Day packs a heavy hit

It's like a kid in a candy store. 4.20.2013

It's almost Record Store Day and I can hardly wait, I've already ranked my personal list. One of my favorite days of the year happens to share this saturday with another counter culture event, 4/20. And, if you happen to live in the Bay area, San Francisco is hosting an event to celebrate Earth Day. Can it be, a day so filled with sensory overload, on multiple levels, recognizing different themes, that I can actually partake in each? Like the little engine that could, I think I can, I think I can...

This year's list is impressive and long. Some of the vinyl catching my eye ranges from east coast hip-hop legends, live folk recordings and reissues from rock 'n roll heavyweights. Here's a small sample of what's tickling my fancy.

Bob Dylan will be releasing a 7 inch with Wigwam and Thirsty Boots as the b side. Ready to Die gets a facelift with two 12 inch pieces of white vinyl. (R.I.P. B.I.G.) Meanwhile Public Enemy decided to drop a greatest hits on us, titled, Planet Earth. The White Stripes pay homage to Elephant, it's been ten years people, by giving each LP its own color variation. An EP by the Rolling Stones, a 7 inch Gram Parsons recording from 1973 with the Fallen Angels and a compilation of those who performed at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival are some of the other rarities on my radar. The Grateful Dead (rare cuts 1966), Fela Kuti and Patty Griffin also put out limited releases for record store day.

Go support your local record shop. See you in line at the Last Record Store. I think I can.

eightychoices.