Spin the black circle
So I’ve been listening to vinyl records for the last six or seven years, but it’s really amped up the last year or so as it’s suddenly become commercially viable or cool or whatever again. It’s pretty great to have the big art, the effort that goes into it, the whole tactile experience.
Lately, however, I’ve been doing everything I can to destroy that experience. My lady’s mom gave me a comedy LP she found at a garage sale or something, an album she’s never heard but based on the cover art and the dude’s name she would like to know what it’s like. So she asked me if I’d be able to get it onto a CD. Well, after a week or two of figurin’ and playing with the various cables and connectors I have I managed to put together a very workable patch system.
So I’ve been “ripping” all my vinyl-only material onto my laptop, cleaning it up, boosting the levels, and whatnot and loading those songs onto my iPod. It’s a wealth of material that is “fresher” to my ears because there just isn’t as much opportunity to listen to it all as frequently. So I’m totally psyched about it and I’m going to try to share that level of psychitude.
This will be the first of a weekly offering of material that has only been available on vinyl, sacrilegiously captured in a digital form.
Below you’ll find one of the best (and most traditionally country) songs by Colorado’s Drag The River, a scrappy group of old punk rockers who play their own brand of “alt-country.” Because I’m a nerd for the English language and word useage, I like this song that much more. Then, unique yet old-timey rock and rollers Murder By Death take on one of my most hated bands ever, Guns ‘n Roses, with results that I quite like. Apologies for the sound quality on that track; it appears the UK label that pressed it doesn’t give a shit for sound quality. Finally, a frenetic and hilarious re-write of Jerry Reed’s “I’m Gonna Write A Song” finds jokey punk cover band Me First and The Gimme Gimmes taking an unusually political slant. Key changes and the breakneck pace leave singer Spike Slawson gasping for air by the time it’s all over.
Murder By Death - Don't Cry [3:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Drag The River - ...Has A Way With Women [2:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Me First & the Gimme Gimmes - I'm Gonna Write A Song [1:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMurder By Death’s Brother single features the Guns ‘n Roses cover as the b-side (how they made G’nR palatable shows just how great of a band they are) and can be procured here. Word of caution: it’s a UK import and thus is likely pricey.
Drag the River’s …Has A Way With Women 7″ features two other great songs and (thanks to a recent re-press) is available here.
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes‘ Jerry 7″ is part of their Square Dance Singles Series. The actual square-shaped vinyl version is long-since sold out, but the “yella” version should still be available to purchase through some retailers.
