Got a bit of stuff in today, some of it rather limited:

Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball (live) - 10" - (UK pressing of this ltd vinyl release featuring "Wrecking Ball" and "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" (with TOM MORELLO), both recorded at Giants Stadium on his last tour.)
Andrew Bird - Mysterious Production of Eggs
Decemberists - Her Majesty The Decemberists... (180g)
Grouper / Pumice - New Zealand Tour Single (7", obviously out of print and I only managed to find 2 of 'em)
Husker Du - Makes No Sense / Love is All Around (7"; Husker covering the theme from Mary Tyler Moore. Aww yeah.)
Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt (The very first album Southern Lord released, marking the very 1st time that Stephen O'Malley (BURNING WITCH, SUNN0))), KHANATE) & Greg Anderson (SUNN0))), GOATSNAKE) & Teeth of Lions Rule the divine.)
Earth - Radio Live (Deluxe 180 gram, vinyl-only release comes in a cloth-like textured heavy-weight cardboard sleeve with metallic silver foil printing. Limited to 3000. From a live radio broadcast on KFJC & tracks from a live performance in Vienna.)
Jack Rose - Kensington Blues
Dead Meadow - Three Kings (2LP + DVD - Feature-length live movie w/ short vignettes combined w/ the soundtrack of the movie.)
Caribou - Odessa (UK release for RSD featuring 3 new mixes of the title track - Junior Boys, David Wrench, & Nite Jewel - plus the original album version. Limited to 500.)

And we got the new Mike Patton in on CD.

I also lowered the price on two recent box sets: Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs and Wilco's Kicking Television. There was an error on the original invoice when they came in which resulted in a slightly higher price than they shoulda been.

Alright, so not as much product waiting as expected. Here's the lowdown:

Wilco - Kicking Television 4LP ltd edition for Record Store Day
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs 6 x 10" - Remastered with booklet and DL code
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Record Store Day 7"
Muse - Record Store Day release
Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante
The Black Keys - Record Store Day release

Grouper - Wide - ltd to 1000
Wide is Grouper's second full length-album. Previously released on Free Porcupine Society and Weird Forest, this is a co-re-release between Weird Forest and Grouper's own label with new artwork by Liz Harris. Edition of 1000 copies.

And some new releases from Mississippi Records:

Range Rats - s/t
Recorded in 1986 & completely unreleased until now - this is Fred & Toody Cole's (Weeds, Lollipop Shoppe, Zipper, Torpedoes, Rats, Western Front, Desperate Edge, Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, & so on) great lost country LP! All original compositions...some sad lilting ballads & some punk as hell. Two songs feature Fred & Toddy playing with "Rollie", a janky Roland drum machine that didn't keep a consistent meter very well. The rest of the songs were recorded with a lean mean band. We are very proud to bring this LP into the world for the first time - another facet of the genius of Fred & Toody Cole & lowfi as cadn be. Housed in an old school tip on sleeve.

Getatchew Mekuria, The Ex and Guests - Moa Anbessa
Getatchew is a legendary Ethio-Jazz saxaphone player. Well documented in the Ethiopiques series, he continues to make amazing music into his seventies. This LP presents eleven new interpretations of Ethiopian tunes. Backed by the awesome force of The EX and a guest horn section. Comes with 28 page booklet.

Various Artists - Fanajana - A Collection of Recordings and Photography from Madagasikara
Over a three year period in the late 1990s, Charlie Brooks embarked on two long field recording trips in Madagasikara. Brooks primarily concentrated on the more remote north and west regions of the island. Upon his return in 1999 he pressed 200 copies of a triple record and stored them under his bed for the last ten years. The three themed Lps: Vocal, Valiha Marovany and Miscellaneous Instruments were released as the now out of print MR-061 Fihavanana. This single lp collection compiles seventeen tracks from Fihavanana. Comes with a twelve page booklet of photography and notes.

CHIN CHIN - Sound Of The Westway
In 1985, Sound of the Westway was released on Chin Chin's own Farmer Records. As a progression from their first 7", SOTW proved to be a brilliant mix of post punk and pop sensibility. The band's fierce DIY stance and girl-positive ethics have echoed down through the indie scene. Mississippi and Slumberland are excited to collaborate on this classic reissue. On vinyl only, remastered by Tim Stollenwerk and new original artwork by Alec Icky Dunn. Includes Free Download Card.

As well as restocks of the Cecil Barfield and Fight On, Your Time Ain't Long MR LPs.

Note that MR have announced a second Abner Jay LP. We only have one copy left of their previous AJ release and it's out of print so grab it now. Here's the scoop on the forthcoming one:

Abner Jay - Folk Song Stylist
Long awaited follow up to the True Story of Abner Jay LP. Abner Jay was a man who had a grand sweeping vision of what folk music was. In his lifetime his expression of what folk music could be encompassed some serious stylistic variations. Sometimes he was a one man band traveling troubadour playing an electric banjo, harmonica, & drums who tried to hoodwink audiences into believing that he was 150 years old & the standard bearer for authentic Americana. Sometimes he played in electric straight up R&B bands such as "Koko Joe & the Jobhunters". Sometimes he claimed to be the "black Bob Dylan" strumming an acoustic guitar & singing socially conscious urban folk. On this LP we find Abner in all of these modes & more. (He also does a pop song about a submarine disaster & a beautiful gospel song.)

Culled from a mix of Abners' 45's & LPs spanning the period 1964 - 1973, including Abner's first long lost LP, which we reproduced the cover image for this LP from. We hope that this release will help to further the current wave of understanding that Abner Jay is an important artist who deserves a wider audience than he ever received during his lifetime. Comes with a self promotional pamphlet penned by Abner & a color photo of Abner. Housed in an old school tip on sleeve.

A few titles that were supposed to arrive on Record Store Day have come in late. We now have limited qtys of:

- Deftones 7"
- Moby Grape 7"
- Velvet Underground Live 1969 Vols I and II LPs
- Sonic Youth - Evol on pink vinyl
- Soft Machine - Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 (We're the only store in Canada who received this. I believe it's limited to 500 world, with 350 of those released to the USA)

We also found a few more copies of our in-house CD Compilation, which had fallen down behind something. There's about 10 of them. Free to anyone who requests one while supplies last. More details here.

And we still have the following titles available:

- Pavement
- Neko Case
- Roky Erickson and Okkervill River
- Peter Gabriel 7" and Peter Gabriel LP
- Jeff Beck
- Fragments (4AD sampler)
- CocoRosie 7"
- Mastodon (colored vinyl)
- Pantera's 3 LPs
- Paolo Nutini's CD
- Ted Leo / Pharmacists 7"
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs 7"

Lastly, I leave tomorrow for Los Angeles for a much needed vacation. I will be gone until mid May. If you've special ordered something it more than likely will be waiting for me upon my return. If it's something you need desperately for a gift or something, let me know and I'll try to have remaining staff ferret it out of the boxes that will be piling up. Note that yes, this will be a pain in the ass to do so if you can wait, we'd appreciate it. One of the titles that will come in while I'm away is 69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields. I ordered the title promptly so have no doubt we'll be getting it (it's limited to a few thousand) so don't fret if you asked for one and see it at another store on the 4th.

Of course, while away, I don't think I'll be updating the site too much or answering store related email. If you've written and require an answer immediately, call the store and ask ... but note that staff will not be answering any questions about new vinyl or special orders.

Have a good few weeks, folks!

Okay, phone's been ringing off the hook with questions. Here's everything you need to know about our Record Store Day sale:

WHEN
Saturday, April 17, 2010.
10am - 10pm

WHERE
2309 Yonge Street, Second Floor
That's a half block north of Eglinton on the east side--right across from the Indigo books and on top of Madanto Pizza.

DISCOUNT
25% off all USED CDs, DVDs, Vinyl, and Blu-Ray.

PLEASE
Do not ask us to hold things for you (over the phone or in person). We will NOT do this for anyone.

VORTEX RSD COMP
We'll be giving away 75 copies of To Think, We've Never Met, a Vortex-exclusive CD compilation of previously unreleased tracks--nine artists from eight countries. More info here. Limit one per customer. Want one? Just ask.

PURCHASING LIMIT
Because qtys are so limited, we are restricting people to buying just ONE of each RSD item.

RECORD STORE DAY ITEMS
Some items we only have a couple of. Some we have dozens of. If you're super keen on anything in this list, I highly suggest you get there early. YES, we expect there to be a lineup before we open. There is at every other sale we throw.

WHAT WE HAVE
Here's a list of the Record Store Day items that we absolutely will have at 10am. What we'll have at 10:01 I can't say.

Against Me - I Was a Teenage Anarchist / Acoustic version of same 7"
Beach House - Zebra 12"
Jeff Beck - Emotion and Commotion 180g
Built to Spill - Water Sleepers / Linus and Lucy 7"
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone - 2LP - Clear Vinyl
CocoRosie - Lemonade 7"
Elvis Costello - Hollywood High 7"
Deerhoof - Apple O'
Deerhoof - Green Cosmos
Devo - Duty Now For the Future
Devo - Fresh / What We Do 12" - 45rpm
Doors - People Are Strange / the Crystal Ship 7"
Roky Erickson and Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs - Dark Side of the Moon LP+CD
Peter Gabriel & Stephin Merritt 7"
Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever (clear vinyl; hand screened cover)
Sharon Jones / Budos Band - split 7"
John Lennon - 3 x 7" (ltd to 7000, numbered)
Ted Leo / Pharmacist - The Oldest Growth / North Coast 7"
Mastodon - Blood Mountain - 2LP 45RPM 180G
Mastodon - Blood Mountain - Colored vinyl
Mountain Goats - Life Of the World To Come - Rian Johnson documentary dvd
Paolo Nutini - Live at Preservation Hall CDEP
Pantera - Far Beyond Driven 2 x 180g
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power 2 x 180g
Pantera - Cowboys from Hell 2 x 180g
Pavement - Quarantine the Past: Best Of (alternate track list)
Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer 10" pic disc
REM - Chronic Town (blue vinyl)
Rodriguez - Inner City Blues / I'm Gonna Live Till I Die 7"
Rolling Stones - Plundered My Soul 7"
Arthur Russell - Calling Out of Context - 2LP
Sonic Youth - Hits are for Squares 2LP
Soundgarden - Hunted Down / Nothing to Say 7"
Joe Strummer - Global A-Go-Go 2LP
Joe Strummer - Streetcore
Tegan and Sarah - AOL Sessions CD -
Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser 12"
TV On the Radio - Dear Science
Tom Waits - Mule Variations - 2LP 180g and print
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons 7"
Various Artists - Stars of Goldwax 7" (OV Wright, James Carr and the Ovations)
Various Artists - Fragments from a Work In Progress 12" (Blonde Redhead, The Big Pink, Gang Gang Dance, Ariel Pink, Tune Yards)
Various Artists - SP20: Casual Nostalgia Fest CD (Key performances from Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary Bash)

PRICES
Word on the street is that some stores are gouging and putting super high prices on the harder to get stuff. We are not. When pricing, I treated each item as if it were a regular new release and did the standard markup. The lowest priced RSD item we have is $4.99 (Sharon Jones / Budos Band 7") and to my knowledge we're the only store in the country with this item. The highest is 56.99 (Mastodon Blood Mountain 2LP 45RPM). All but one item is under $30 if memory serves me right and most single LPs are $16 - $20. Some 12" records are around $13. Picture discs are $15 or so. All but one of the 7" records (Stars of Goldwax) are under $10 with a few under $7.

PRIZES
For every $20 you spend, you get 1 ticket for our raffle. On Sunday I'll do a draw for the winners of these prizes:

• Fihavanana (Mississippi Records) - a 3LP set of field recordings and photography from Madagascar (out of print, limited and hand numbered to 200 copies; donated by Vortex);


• Animal Collective’s 3LP Crack Box (out of print and limited to 1000 copies; donated by me);


• Signed test pressing of Anduin’s Abandoned In Sleep LP (one of a kind!; donated by SMTG Ltd.);


• Signed copy of Triple Burner's self titled LP (out of print; ltd to 500; donated by Triple Burner)


• Grouper's Wide LP (ltd to 1000; donated by Grouper)


• Dinosaur Jr. skatedeck and copy of the band’s Farm CD (donated by Jagjaguwar);


• Autographed CD of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago (donated by Jagjaguwar);


• Sharon Jones / Budos Band split 7" (donated by me) and autographed Sharon Jones poster (donated by Daptone Records);


• Soft Machine - Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 (2LP; limited to 150 UK, 350 USA; donated by Vortex);


• Dinosaur Jr. poster autographed by the entire band (donated by Jagjaguwar);


• La Roux RSD 7" (Donated by Universal Music);


• Peter Gabriel Scratch My Back LP (Donated by Universal Music);


• Peter Gabriel / Stephin Merritt 7" (Donated by Universal Music);

Yesterday Mackenzie and I assembled the sleeves for the Vortex CD Compilation which we'll be giving away on Satuday during Record Store Day. There are only 75 of these made. I chose the artists, the artists chose the songs, and Bud made the cover art. Some bio material follows the track listing:

1. Dirty Three - Slow Drive to Shore (Australia)
2. Electrelane - Carolina Wren (UK)
3. Glissandro 70 - You the Vandal (Canada)
4. Anduin - Chamberlayne (live) (USA)
5. Jacaszek - Ornithology (Poland)
6. Jasper TX - Antwerp (Sweden)
7. Elegi - Dårekiste (Norway)
8. Khate - Micro2 (USA)
9. Pixelord - With Kids (Russia)

Dirty Three (Website)
Dirty Three is violinist Warren Ellis, guitarist Mick Turner, and drummer Jim White. Formed in the early 90s in Melbourne, the instrumental trio is known for their exquisite live performances. Outside of Dirty Three, Ellis is known for his playing with Nick Cave, Turner for his playing with Tren and Will Oldham, and White has drummed for Smog, Bonnie Prince Billy, Cat Power, and Nina Nastasia. Though I've enjoyed all their solo outings, it's a treat every time they get back into the studio as Dirty Three. My pick for their recordings: Horse Stories (Allmusic Review). Slow Drive to Shore is their own composition.

Electrelane (Website; Too Pure Records)
A foursome of Mia Clarke, Rachel Dalley, Emma Gaze, and Verity Susman, Electrelane are now defunct, but across four full length records and a number of singles, they turned out some fantastic music. It's impossible to play one of their albums at the store without having multiple customers ask who it is. Their songs run the gamut of soft and playful to structured and kickass. Carolina Wren was initially released on the b-side of single, and on the initial Japanese CD release of No Shouts No Calls, both of which are out of print. My recommendation for a newbie to the band: The Power Out (Allmusic Review).

Glissandro 70 (Website; Constellation Records)
I've recommended Glissandro 70's self-titled debut (Allmusic Review) to customers countless times. One of my favorite albums of the decade. The exuberant and intricate playing of Sandro Perri and Craig Dunsmuir is well on display here on their cover of Moondog's You the Vandal. Sandro also has solo releases and has recorded as Polmo Polpo.

Anduin (Website; SMTG Limited)
As Anduin, Jonathan Lee creates dark, pulsating Ambient electronics soaked in layers of synths, samples and field recordings. He has collaborated with a number of other artists including Svarte Greiner, Jasper TX, Stephen Vitiello, Stefan Németh, Noah Saval, Xela, Gareth Davis and his own experimental group Souvenir’s Young America. His live shows and gallery installations include a variety of self-made sets, collected props and hidden lights. My recommendation is for his newest full lenth, Abandoned In Sleep (Boomkat Review). Note that we are giving away an Abandoned in Sleep autographed test pressing (one of a kind!) during our Record Store Day raffle.

Jacaszek (Website; Myspace; Miasmah)
Pole Michel Jacaszek combines electronic and classical music beautifully and, seemingly, effortlessly. He says, "I want to create my own, personal and recognizable musical language, in which electronic manipulation of recorded sound is going to enrich traditional acoustic instruments." Recommendation: Treny (sample; Allmusic Review)

Jasper TX (Myspace; Soundcloud; Fang Bomb; Kning Disk; SMTG Ltd)
Jasper TX is the musical moniker of Sweden’s Dag Rosenqvist. Using electric and acoustic guitar, piano, pump organ, melodica, glockenspiel, voice and various other instruments as a foundation for his compositions, Dag has managed to create his own musical universe. Elements of post rock, drone, improvisation, noise and lo-fi aesthetics are all filtered through a skewed melodic pop sensibility, often resulting in something quite unique. My recommendation: In a Cool Monsoon (Boomkat Review).

Elegi (Myspace; Miasmah)
Norway's Elegi is the musical psuedonym of Tommy Jansen. In addition to releasing two albums on Miasmah, Jansen does music and sound design for stage and screen (most recently the film, The Pink Hotel). I've heard his Badalamenti-esque recordings called unrelenting numerous times but I also find in them a unique calm. My recommendation: Sisteris (sample; Boomkat Review).

Khate (Website; SMTG Ltd)
Khate is one woman and her orchestra of odd instruments. Circuit-bent toys, vintage synths, antiquated media, field recordings, shortwave radio and other assorted electronics are used both live and in the studio. Sometimes ambient, sometimes beaty, sometimes noisy --- the operator is at the whim of the gear, not the other way around. Seasons, the supernatural, and science inform the themes. Her first vinyl collection, Pareidolia, is highly recommended.

Pixelord (Website; Miasmah)
Russian Alexey Devyanin records as both Gultskra Artikler and Pixelord and has released albums Autoplate, Nexsound, Lampse, and Miasmah. My recommendation: Kasha iz Topora (sample; Boomkat Review)