Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

It's pert near time for the annual San Francisco free festival, better known as, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Thanks to Mr. Hellman and his ongoing philanthropic estate for spoiling the Bay area with a trove of music each October. In anticipation of the event I've been checking in on the individual artists' sites to get a better idea of which day to attend. For all of the comments out there that moan about the belated release of the schedule; a) it's free and b) do a little homework or click on the hyperlinks. Now that I'm done with that...

When Hardly Strictly was in its infancy I couldn't get enough, now I brave the masses for only one day. Choosing which day is dictated by the artists I'm most interested in seeing. More often than not Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are at the top of said list. Having seen them a bunch of times, I will probably pass on their Saturday offering. The other acts I'm intrigued by or have yet to see, play on Sunday. So I'll be making my way into Golden Gate Park for my own version of church.

Sunday it is. Hopefully there won't be too many conflicting set times. Here's a list of who I'm interested in (the first three are personal faves): Anderson East, Neko Case, Devotchka, Mandolin Orange, Charles Bradley, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. It's pretty amazing that six of the ten performers I had initially marked to see play on the same day. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is well worth the effort and it's free. Enjoy the tracks below. 

Anderson East | "Satisfy Me"


Neko Case | "Night Still Comes"


Devotchka | "The Winner Is"


eightychoices.

Record Store Day Reminder

Record Store Day | April 18th | 2015 | The Last Record Store

April 18th is Record Store Day—be there or be square. This year has plenty of treasures to seek. For the complete list click here. 

Hopefully X marks the spot and Neko Case's, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, along with, Built to Spill's new album, Untethered Moon, will be added to my collection. The crown jewel this year is, Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes first commercial release for this album on wax. Your turn table is not dead. We'll see you at the Last Record Store. 

Happy hunting,
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.

Record Store Day 2014

Records Store Day: April 19th, 2014

It happens only once a year and every time I get super stoked. I have my personal list of what I really want to grab and then there are those releases that are intriguing. Record Store Day has something for everyone, assuming you have a turntable. Remember, vinyl is not dead. This year's ambassador is non-other than Chuck D. If you don't know who he is, you'd better ask somebody. 

Another cool wrinkle in the world of wax is the Adapter Prize. The first recipients of the Adapter Prize were: Tame Impala - Lonerism (record of the year/new release), The Postal Service - Give up (Reissue), GZA - Liquid Swords chess box set (record store day release of the year), and Rodriguez - Searching for Sugar Man (breakout of the year). There are currently four categories, as mentioned in parenthesis. I totally agree with the GZA selection, which was beyond awesome, there was only one copy at my local record shop. I can definitely get behind the praise for Lonerism. The other two, not so much, and I own Searching for Sugar Man. See ya at the Last Record Store. 

This year's list is once again overwhelming. Here are some of my favorite releases:

LCD Soundsystem, The Long Goodbye | Built to Spill, Ultimate Alternate Wavers | Johnny Cash, With His Hot & Blue Guitar | Outkast, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik | Phosphorescent, Song for Zulu | Randy Newman, self titled | Black Angels, Clear Forest Lake | The Wizard of Oz, original motion picture soundtrack | Tame Impala, Chicago Live | Notorious BIG, Life After Death | Neil Young, Live at the Cow Palace 1968 | Bruce Springsteen, American Beauty, as well as a slough of other releases and 7" specialty records.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that there will be three types of releases this year; RSD exclusives, RSD limited run/regional focus, and 'RSD first' releases, which means that those albums will be initially released on Record Store Day and then will become available later to a larger retail audience. 

eightychoices.