Update: Note that we'll be closed this coming Monday (Aug 2) for the holiday.

First, some store news: Classical is now GONE. All of it. We were going to offer 50 percent off remaining stock for one week and we did it for five, which I think is more than fair. Even at that only about 30 percent of it sold, which says a lot about the remaining inventory. Those upset about this deletion, I feel your pain, but there simply was no other solution. The reason we do no longer carry classical is that none of the staff listens to the genre which makes buying it and pricing it very difficult and a zero sum game. We recommend Second Vinyl (10 Wellesley Street) or Amoroso (4 St. Patrick) for your Classical fix.

We have now moved Jazz into Classical's old home. This may be temporary--we're thinking of some other solutions as that space is not quite big enough for Jazz. Until another solution comes up, it'll be under the window.

New sections are coming as soon as I get a chance to wrangle them together. We're thinking Soul/R&B, Ambient/Experimental/Electronic, and maybe Metal. If you have suggestions for what you'd like added, by all means mention them and we'll see if we can accommodate.

Some new vinyl arrived yesterday (both new and used), including a bunch of jazz (Coltrane, Blakey, Gordon, Moncur III, Pepper). Here's a list of what I can remember:

Tool - 2LP ltd ed. picture disc
Panda Bear 7"
Husker Du - Metal Circus
Beck - Guerro
Eminem - Recovery
Tina Brooks - True Blue
The National - High Violet, s/t, and Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers
Joy Division - Closer
Svarte Greiner - Penpals Forever (Digitalis; in on CD as well; vinyl is ltd to 450 copies and is already sold out from the label)
Soundway's two 3LP sets: The World Ends Part A and Part B
Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974 (2LP on Sublime Frequencies)

A bunch of you have asked about the new Mississippi Records releases I mentioned a few posts previous. They're on order but have not arrived. Those who have emailed about them will get a heads-up when we've got them in-hand. MR are somewhat notorious for announcing titles early, so we may have these very soon or not for a while--it's impossible for me to say. However, I can say with certainty that there's no doubt we'll get them as soon as they're available. Of course, I'll announce their arrival here on the site as well. We have a different (faster, cheaper) source for MR titles than anyone else in the city so should have them first and a couple bucks cheaper than everyone else, just like we do with all other MR vinyls.

We also received a heap of nice used LPs of some contemporary artists (Cat Power, Paul Weller, Tom Petty, and a few others).

Someone brought in a bunch of Emerson, Lake and Palmer Japanese CDs as well as a complete set of those UK Rolling Stones CDs with the miniature album art repros.

Lastly, we also got stock on the Roll the Dice album on CD (it's out of print on vinyl), as well as stock of the latest CDs by The Gaslight Anthem, National, Great Big Sea, Stars, Nirvana, Dum Dum Girls, Discovery, Black Keys, Tom Petty, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, Jonsi, Sting, Sun Burned Hand of the Man, Jimmy Webb, New Pornographers, Melissa Etheridge, KD Lang, and a few others I can't recall off the top of my head.

Just a heads-up about some upcoming vinyl pieces. Some interesting stuff, for sure:

Five volumes on Mississippi Records of Various Artists compilations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Lomax's Southern Journey.

1. Wave the Ocean, Wave the Sea
2. Worried Now, Won't Be Worried Long
3. I'll Meet You On That Other Shore
4. I'll Be Glad When the Sun Goes Down
5. I'm Gonna Live Anyhow Until I Die

Here's a little write up:

In 1959 and 1960, at the height of the Folk Revival, Alan Lomax undertook the first-ever stereo field recording trip through the American South to document its still thriving vernacular musical culture. He traveled through Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina, making over 70 hours of recordings. The trip came to be known as Lomax's "Southern Journey," and its recordings were first issued for the Atlantic and Prestige labels in the early '60s. Those, however, as well as subsequent releases on New World and Rounder Records, are now all out of print. To remedy this, and to celebrate the Southern Journey's 50th anniversary, Mississippi Records and the Alan Lomax Collection have collaborated on five commemorative LPs, spanning the breadth of Lomax's '59-60 Southern recordings, drawing on new transfers of the original 1/4" tapes, and featuring a considerable amount of previously unreleased material. The five LP volumes feature singing siblings Hobart Smith and Texas Gladden from Saltville, Virginia; menhaden fishermen's chorus the Bright Light Quartet; the Young Brothers' Mississippi Hill Country fife and drum band; Blue Ridge instrumentalists Wade Ward and Charlie Higgins; Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers; work songs and hollers from Parchman Farm; congregational hymns from African American and white Appalachian meeting-houses; Alabama's singing washerwoman Vera Ward Hall; the 1959 United Sacred Harp Convention; and the debut recordings of bluesman Fred McDowell, among much else.

Each volume is being sold separately with its own distinctive packaging. All come with a 12 page booklet featuring many never before published photos. Old school tip on sleeves & beautiful sound. Like all MR releases, these will be limited. I've ordered a few of each but if it's something you're desperate for, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so I'm certain to order enough. Not to be missed!

Italy's Doxy Records has some nice stuff coming out:

Willie Dixon - Walkin' the Blues
Ornette Coleman - Something Else
Ornette Coleman - Tomorrow Is the Question
Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud
John Lee Hooker - Driftin' the Blues
John Lee Hooker - The Blues
John Lee Hooker - The Great John Lee Hooker
Lightnin' Hopkins - Country Blues

The wonderful The National's first few records are finally coming out on vinyl: Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers and The National.

Ambient Doom master Svarte Greiner's got a new release on Digitalis--it's a rerelease of a 2008 cassette-only album, with a new side of material as a bonus. We'll be getting it in on CD and LP. Title is Penpals Forever (and Ever). The vinyl is limited to just 450 copies.

Speaking of Digitalis, the Roll the Dice LP which we sold out of earlier in the year... ? It's coming in on CD. I play it often at the store and people always inquire. It's a duo, featuring the male half of The Knife, which lots of people have been asking about as well. We'll have Silent Shout 2LP in stock soon.

Soundway's got two 3LP sets coming: The World Ends Part A and Part B. But what are they, you ask? Here's the write-up:

The World Ends is the latest title from Soundway Records showcasing a wave of guitar-driven and psychedelic groups that sprung up in Nigeria during the early 1970s. Featuring 32 electrifying and funk-laden grooves, this is the sound of a generation attempting to pick up the pieces after the devastation of the Nigerian civil war. Spread over 2 triple gatefold LPs, this bumper collection is brimming with youthful exuberance, fuzzed-out guitar and cosmic organ vibes and owes much to the psychedelic sounds of Jim Morrison, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and James Brown. As the Summer of Love was blossoming in London and San Francisco, Nigeria was imploding into civil war. Also known as the Biafra War of 1967, it was a grisly conflict taking over three million lives, yet at the same time the country was being pulled apart, there was a new world beginning. The tracks featured represent a forgotten chapter in Nigeria's musical history when the youth threw their varied morsels into the pot, from hard rock to psychedelic soul, when guitars were cherished instruments, symbolic of a new movement, when highlife and Afrobeat played second fiddle to "the beat."

Another interesting 2LP release is coming from Sublime Frequencies: Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974:

Saigon Rock & Soul delivers the goods international retro collectors have been searching for in vain for many years -- and it delivers beyond belief. Every song is a mini-masterpiece, be it heavy acid-rock psychedelia, horn- and guitar- drenched funk grooves, or gripping soul ballads reflective of life during wartime. The tracks that form this collection cut a window into a rich musical Vietnamese music scene that has long been obscured, and for the most part, forgotten. As the scope of electrified Vietnamese music from the 1960s and 1970s begins to be revealed, it becomes evident that this was among the heaviest and most eclectic musical scenes of Southeast Asia at the time. These songs tell of war, love and what war does to love. All of them were recorded in makeshift studios and even U.S. army facilities while the Vietnam War raged -- and were issued by a handful of Saigon record companies on vinyl 45s and reel or cassette tapes.

I guess I should also be asking whether anyone is keen on the multi-LP Neu! box. It's CRAZY expensive so we're not bringing it in unless it's a special order. That said, I *do* think I can get the best price on it in the city, which would be around $200, I think. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you want me to investigate further.

And, finally, 12-string guitar master James Blackshaw's new album, All Is Falling is coming soon. Here's a taste:

First off, we will have the new Joanna Newsom triple record, Have One on Me, on the floor today about 2:30 pm. (It has arrived and is awaiting my processing--I start at 2). Today, Pitchfork gave it a 9.2 outta 10 and categorized it as "best new music". We have it on CD and LP.

I believe the box will also contain ONE copy of Susumu Yokota's Grinning Cat on 2LP. This album has been a bitch to bring in. I've only managed to find 3 copies in almost a year as it's technically out of print and was limited to 2500 copies. I bought one of the three, sold the other, and now the third'll be on the floor later today. If you like electronic music, this is a masterpiece of the genre. And I'm not alone in thinking that:

"Ambient genius." - MOJO

"One of the most gifted producers on the planet... the early works of Eno and Aphex Twin have been joined on their pedestal." -- Wax

"God-like genius." - Sleazenation

"Blissfully enchanting music...Fantastic sounds to immerse yourself in completely." - DJ

"Yokota exists on a different plane to most of his contemporaries." - NME

I should just take this copy and give it to a friend. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone worthy. You can hear a track in the left column.

I believe the box will also have some restock of some catalog titles (Beatles, Husker Du, Soundgarden, Bad Brains, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, AC/DC, yadda yadda yadda).

Next... one of the touchstone releases of my generation, The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs is being issued in April on vinyl for the first time. It'll be a 6 x 10" box set and is limited to just 3000 copies. I don't have exact pricing yet but expect it to be around $95. We'll do our best to beat Amazon and other big box shops, just as we did with the Tom Waits and Numero box sets.

If this is something you're keen on, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so we order enough copies. Here's the Allmusic review. Here it is on PFM. The Onion AV Club gave it a 10, as did Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice. It was #1 on many 1999 year end lists as well as in the top slot for best of the 90s. Hell, it even has an unofficial wiki. To me, the only record that maybe held more significance for me in that decade was Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. As I said, touchstone. You've no doubt heard a bunch of songs from the release, even if you don't know it. Hopefully you didn't have to suffer through Peter Gabriel's dreadful cover of The Book of Love. The original is below.

So, we got our first batch of new (as in sealed) CDs in today, as well as a small batch of interesting vinyl. Most of the CDs we only brought one copy in, so we've opened them and stuck a NEW sticker on them and put the cases out and kept the discs behind the counter, same way we always do. Items we received more than one of have sealed counterparts behind the counter and the opened case on the floor.

I've made a section on the wall above the new arrivals (as in used) bin. Here's a breakdown of what's there right now, as well as the new records we received. More should be in by week's end.

Compact Disc:

- Kevin Drumm - Imperial Distortion (2CD; Hospital Productions)
- Hildur Gudnadottir - Without Sinking (Touch; UK Import) - "... a captivating, often unsettled release..." (Allmusic)
- Ilyas Ahmed - The Vertigo of Dawn (Time Lag)
- Grouper / Inca Ore - Split (Acuarela; Spanish Import) - "These two artists complement each other brilliantly ... Highly Recommended." (Boomkat)
- Spoon - Transference (Merge) - "... smarts, wit, hooks ..." (Allmusic)
- Leyland Kirby - Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was (3CD, HAFTW) "Truly life affirming sounds, and without doubt one of the most important, substantial releases of the year." (Boomkat) - This release also made many year end top 10 lists; we sold out instantly on vinyl (6LP).
- My Morning Jacket - At Dawn, original pressing (2CD; Darla; Limited to 2000 copies in 2001; Out of print)
- Jasper TX - Singing Stones (Fang Bomb; Swedish Import) "Singing Stones is an exceptional album, artfully constructed and sequenced in a way that preserves its enigmatic feel, continually shifting between coy tunefulness and glorious abstraction. Superb." (Boomkat)
- Julie Doiron / Okkervil River - Split (Acuarela; Spanish Import) "[Doiron's] five songs are short, spare, heart-wrenching, and bedroom recorded." (Allmusic)
- His Name Is Alive - Firefly Dragonfly (Acuarela; Spanish Import)
- Lou Barlow - Mirror the Eye (Acuarela; Spanish Import)
- Damien Jurado - Holding His Breath (Acuarela; Spanish Import) "... a tense twenty minutes inside Jurado's world." (Allmusic)

Vinyl:

- Richard Skelton - Landings (2LP+CD) "Richard Skelton proves himself to be more than just a modern-classical outsider and consolidates his status as an auteur with a singular vision... Amazing Music." (Boomkat)
- Spoon - Transference (Merge) 7.8 outta 10 (Pitchfork)
- Coil / The New Blockaders / Vortex Campaign - The Melancholy Mad Tennant (Important; Ltd to 500 copies; 180g)
- Black to Comm - Rückwärts Backwards (Dekorder; Ltd. to 222 Copies; Out of print) - "... recalling Fennesz or Tim Hecker's crumbly, floury vapournoise ... the lines between organic and digital are invisible..." (The Wire)
- Black to Comm - Fractal Hair Geometry (Dekorder; Ltd. to 500 Copies) - "With a sound built on Krautrock-style keyboard oscillations, fluttering electronics and processed vocal moans, his songs play out as textural pieces with a closed-in, near claustrophobic feel." (The Wire)
- Animal Hospital - Memory (2LP; Barge; Ltd to 350 Hand-Numbered copies; white vinyl) - "Memory is a record that engages with familiar techniques and proceeds to completely fuck with the programme.... Just awesome." (Boomkat)
- Charley Patton - You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die: The Recorded Works (4LP; Monk Records; Ltd. to 275 Copies; 4 different colored vinyls)
- Reverend Johnny L. "Hurricane" Jones - Jesus Christ From A To Z (Parlotone; Ltd Edition; Culled from recordings Johnny made for his own private use -- over 1,000 tapes going back to 1957 -- assembled for the very first time.)
- Faust - IV (Virgin; UK Import; Exact replica, officially reissued by EMI. 180 gram audiophile pressing with printed inner sleeve.)

And restocks of these Mississippi Records titles:

- Reverend Louis Overstreet
- Fight On, Your Time Ain't Long
- Mortika
- Mississippi Fred McDowell
- Clara Rockmore

Time for another visit to the CD New Arrivals Bin. Here are the standout or rarely-seen items that are currently there. Click for reviews where appropriate.



Barbara Acklin - Greatest Hits
Barbara Lynn - The Jamie Singles Collection
The Hustle and the Best of Van McCoy
Don Bryant - s/t
Maxine Brown - Something You Got
Syl Johnson - Back for a Taste
Delfonics - Best Of
Various - Blue Rock Records Story
Millie Jackson - Feelin' Bitchy (Import)
Wheedle's Groove - Seattle's Finest in Funk and Soul
Banda Uniao Black - s/t
Willie Mitchell - Ooh Baby, You Turn Me On
Joe Meek - Freak Beat
Ike and Tina Turner - Live, Raw and Funky
Trampps - s/t




Various - 2131 South Michigan Ave - 60s Garage and Psychedelia (on Sundazed)
Magazine - Real Life



Vincent Gallo - Recordings of Music for Film
Yo La Tengo - Prisoners of Love (2cd best of) and Popular Songs
Dead Man's Bones - Featuring the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir
St. Vincent - Actor
Grand Archives - Keep In Mind Frankenstein
Le Loup - Family
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions (singer from Mazzy Star) - Through the Devil Softly
Antlers - Hospice
Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice
Flying Saucer Attack - Outdoor Miner / Psychic Driving
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
Orenda Fink - Ask the Night
Megafaun - Gather, Form & Fly and Bury the Square
FanFarlo - Reservoir
Taken By Trees - East of Eden
The XX - s/t
Hidden Cameras - OriginOrphan
Scotland Yard Gospel Choir - And the Horse They Rode In On and s/t
John Cale - Island Years



Boards of Canada - Hi Scores
Fripp and Eno - No Pussyfooting



Mance Lipscomb - You Got To Reap What You Sow
Robert Pete Williams - Great Louisiana Bluesman
Keb Darge and Cut Chemist Present: Lost & Found: Rockabilly and Jump Blues



Anti-Pop Consortium - Flourescent Black
Jay-Z - The Black Album