graypunk

I really dislike record retailers that feel compelled to wrap up vinyl records in tape. Wide packing tape. (I’m looking at you, Amoeba!) I suppose I understand the desire to ensure that the price sticker reflects the cost that said store deems is appropriate. (Or wishful) And I do understand that there are theft issues and some retailers like to make sure that a sensormatic/anti-theft tag is taped down somewhere in the mix. (Because we don’t want someone walking out the door with a $3 record, now do we?)

However, that is not always the case. Yesterday I did some record shopping at one of the Rasputin’s stores in the area and, man, I spent a good hour (and likely longer) simply (and slowly) peeling tape off of records. Yes, I care. I care a lot. Which is a helluva lot more than I can say for record store clerks who not only affix tape horizontally and vertically, but also give no thought whatsoever to taping over a custom sticker. Is barbaric too strong a word? (Probably) Didn’t your parents teach you better than that? What’s that, you say your parents don’t know what a record is either? Ugh.

Anyhoo, yeah, I get it – you don’t want customers changing prices and you don’t want customers opening up records. It’s true – people are stupid and there are some folks who will try to sneak out a Tool record in a Andre Previn jacket. I’m sure it happens. But there has got to be a better way. (There isn’t…or won’t be).

So, following a couple of weeks of back and forth with the Gemm technical team (or, as I know them, Dan), Graypunk inventory is now up and available for purchase on that platform. For you folks who prefer Gemm to Musicstack, there ya go. Also please keep in mind that select Graypunk wares can be found on discogs.com and, occasionally, on eBay.com. Regardless of which site you use, there is always an option to search by seller, and all my offerings on any of these sites are searchable by keying in “graypunk” as the seller.

Thanks for you past, present and future support!

I don’t house a whole lot of knowledge when it comes to classical vinyl. However, that doesn’t preclude me from occasionally buying it (though it really should). And when I do sell classical stuff, it’s usually on eBay, primarily due to what I feel is a genre that is really difficult to search on Musicstack and Gemm. As a result, you can find a dozen or so vintage classical records – mainly 60’s issues, about half of which are minty-looking releases from the German Archiv(e) label – over on eBay. That said, not the most highly coveted stuff on the label as the titles currently up for auction are mainly Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. And then there are are also a couple of random pieces each from the other labels noted in the header, as well as a London Blueback of the Brahms title shown in the above scan (okay, I know know a little about classical, but it’s pretty limited).

http://shop.ebay.com:80/i.html?rt=nc&LH_Auction=1&_adv=1&_dmd=1&_in_kw=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_ssn=graypunk&_trksid=p3911.c0.m301

So, you know what my problem is with contemporary (ie-recent) rock and roll? No roll. I suppose you could make a case for, say, Pink. Or Avril Lavigne. But it just seems such a calculated and manufactured roll. Plain White T’s? They might be rock and roll. But I swear I don’t really no what they sound like. You see, I’m old. But hey, I checked out the new My Chemical Romance because I saw the word “glam” attached to every review I read about the record, so I had to give it a listen. Not bad, actually, I kinda like. And it almost seems that it was an organic shift, as they simply dropped most of the goth pretensions, which revealed more of their inner roll.

There was no such need for Humble Pie to ever go in search of their inner roll. They totally rolled. And like many groups in the 70’s, it took a live album to get noticed in the states. Ironically, after leaving Humble Pie following this release, it was the same live double-album format that blew up guitarist Peter Frampton in the states just five years later. Post Frampton, HP made a couple of really great records – “RockOn” and “Shine On” – before spending several years, well, sucking before Marriott finally gave it up. But he really didn’t, reforming a version of “Humble Pie” five years later, only to suck all over again. And I swear, I love Steve Marriott. But the later years were not so great.

But hey, back to the rock. And roll. As great an example of 70’s boogie this is (and it is!), I’m still kinda surprised Classic decided to go after this one. Someone there must have been a fan. Man, gotta love tat scan. Looks vintage, yeah. Amazing how much shelf wear an item can pick up in seven years. Anyhoo, this one is getting pretty scarce out there. Classic shut down production almost a year ago and many titles are literally disappearing over night. So, as the kids say, don’t sleep.

http://www.musicstack.com/item/350642556

***Repost from earlier this year, for the obvious self-serving reasons (yes, that would lead one to believe it is still for same…which it is). I mean, it would be remiss of me to flog a key piece of Harrison vinyl on the day that a Martin Scorcese-helmed HBO special airs. Synergy, dude. Or opportunism. Whatever.***

I don’t think there’s a whole lot I need to say about this one, except for the fact that it is sealed (!). I picked it up from a guy who used to run a record store insouthern California back in the day, an original Apple issue with a rather large promo hole through the top right corner of the box. So yeah, a tad unsightly for some. But enclosed within are pristine copies of the three LP’s as well as the poster. ‘m pretty confident that this is a first pressing, with muli-clored sleeves/labels, but I certainly can’t swear-to-John-Lennon as the box remains factory sealed. Shrink is indeed original, sporting the requisite pair of “breathe holes” as well as the missing shrink at promo hole. Oh, btw, said hole does not go through the back of the box, through it does extend through the inners. $175.

Musicstack…http://www.musicstack.com/item/176229784

Gemm…http://www.gemm.com/item/HARRISON-c-GEORGE/ALL–THINGS–MUST–PASS/GML1887392006/

Discogs…http://www.discogs.com/buy/Vinyl/George-Harrison-All-Things-Must-Pass/44567755?ev=bp_rel_det

Van Halen is getting the band back together. The original band. We think. The on-again, off-again reunion is reportedly on, with the band now in the studio to record a new record. Still not sure if Michael Anthony is part of this deal, but if he’s not, and Eddie’s kid is part of the make-up, who cares. I mean, who cares anyway? Methinks a bunch of folks do. And as much as I LOVED this band for, well, two albums, I have no desire whatsoever to see a 50-year-old (plus) David Lee Roth singing “Ice Cream Man.” That would almost be as creepy as Steven Tyler leering at 16-year-olds on American Idol. Almost.

But back in the day, especially on that first record, well, it was all pretty cool. It wasn’t anything new, per se, but…it really was. You know, it’s almost hard to remember what mindless, ironic-free rock and roll sounded like. Or what a frontman with swagger actually looked like. But it all sounded and looked great to a junior in high school who grew up in the hard rocking 70’s (with all due respect to the soft rock contingent that was plying their respective craft during the same time.)

Anyhoo, I have a couple of very cool VH rarities that I would love to give up to someone else who is still down with Diamond Dave and Fast Eddie, and who’s looking forward to seeing them-maybe-in 2011. First up is a DCC gold cd of their band’s epic self-titled release in unplayed condition, with the CD itself sporting a “Not For Sale” imprint in the inner ring of the disc (as well as the punch hole through the upc, natch). Man, these DCC discs go for some money, so brace yourself for the pricing…http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848719.

The other item is a sealed (!) promo only Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies 12″ single in a custom die-cut sleeve with five tracks from the first record -“Runnin’ With The Devil”, “Eruption”, “Ice Cream Man”, “YOu Really Got Me” and “Jamie’s Cryin'”. Oh, and it’s on red vinyl. Yep. Jacket has some issues – a corner crease visible when looking at the back of the jacket, a top right crease due to shrink pull and a small bottom right corner dent. So, definitely not perfect, but also not all that bad. And again, it sealed and found here (and price dropped to $75 due to the jacket stuff)…http://www.musicstack.com/item/327848143.

Yes, it’s true. I really am attempting to alienate the three people who actually read this on a, well, semi-regular basis. Honestly, I’m still jammed up with learning curves (spent yesterday with my head buried in Quickbooks, and may be spending most of today there as well) and I’ve got to get a few things packed up and out the door, so I chose a title that I didn’t have to think about a whole lot. And no, that is not a diss.

It’s somewhat mind-boggling on how big Daryl and Toni were back in the day. I mean, stupid big. Bigger than, say, Ke$ha. And I barely know who Ke$ha is (but I apparently know that there is a dollar sign in her name…go figure). But hey, Captain And Tennille were way, way better than Ke$ha. And you can judge that by either the quality of the music or sales figures. C & T kick her ass on both levels. And Toni Tennille didn’t have the benefit of auto-tune!

Anyway, not to dwell on this for too long, but the band sold tons of records. “Love Will Keep Us Together” alone sold over 1.5 million copies. And there were several follow-up singles that also sold in excess of a million copies. They were so big they even had their own (short-lived) tv show. That said, Sonny & Cher they weren’t.

So, I have  sealed copy of this 70’s jewel. First, there’s the gatefold jacket – essential for the 70’s teen, and handy if you misplaced your copy of Yes’ “Tales From Topographic Oceans.” (Personally, given the choice of listening to either album, I’m opting for the confectionary leanings of C&T over the meandering indulgences of Yes, but if you decide to use that jacket for rolling purposes, just know you’ll be looking at a shirtless Daryl Dragon.) Other built-in features of this fine collection are a very large custom sticker letting you know that all those songs you wanted to hear (all killer, no filler!) are enlosed within, as is a “tear-out board poster”.  And finally, the small cut-out-hole on the top right corner and the promo sticker on the bottom left would lead me to believe this is a white label promo. Word!

Okay, there you have it. While Don Kirshner didn’t have anything to do with this particular piece of bubblegum, he did once have Neil Sedaka under contract as a writer and Sedaka did pen several of the group’s biggest hits, including that “Love Will Keep Us Together” gem. BTW, I’d also opt to listen to C&T over Kansas. Just sayin’.

Happy Tuesday.

Welcome to the end of the working week. As the handful of you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit erratic with my original stated goal of daily updates. Whatever reason – a large desire to continue adding as many titles as possible to my inventory, a need to actually acquaint myself with the business side of the business (which is somewhat of a learning curve, at least by my initial Quickbooks experience), the enjoyment I get of actually going out and looking for new stuff (which is where I was this morning, bringing home a fairly tepid yield though I was pretty happy about picking up that sealed copy of “Canine Heart Sounds”! ) or, as is more likely the case, a complete lack of discipline. I must admit, it is hard to get me and discipline in the same room. I hate that guy.

So, a few things, if I may – just put up a couple of dozen new things for sale, and they run the gamut in regards to stylings – there were  couple of early R. Stevie Moore records, one of the pioneers in regards to lo-fi all-over-the-map outsider home recording (I’ve seen many folks dropping Ariel Pink references in regards to the sharing/extension of Moore’s aesthetic approach to his art), the first two records from Chicago-based indie power popsters Green (also quite lo-fi in nature…and quite good), and about fifteen Blue Note Reissues from France, all 80’s Cadre Rouge pressings featuring digitally remastered DMM pressings. There is no doubt some folks are put off my the “digital” aspect of the process, but there remains lots of fans out there for this particular series. All the jackets have gold promo stamps on the top right front corner and all the vinyl is either without any marks (NM) or with one to several inaudible wispy hairline scuffs; artists include Miles, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Dorham, Horace Silver, Donald Byrd,  MyCoy Tyner and, of course, other Blue Note faves. You can find them by clicking on the following link at searching by label for Blue Note – http://graypunk.musicstack.com/

I failed to make an earlier note on the passing of Don Kirshner. Depending on when you grew up, Kirshner meant different things to different people. I love him for playing a key role in the creation of “bubblegum pop” and I hate him for being the guy who signed Kansas. However, the most direct way he impacted my musical world growing up was really in name only, as I don’t believe he had a lot to do with bookings on his late-night television show – Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. I would never miss that show and I will never forget one moment that had to be a WTF moment for lots of kids in mid-america at the time – Cars frontman Ric Ocasek introducing more or less all of America to…Suicide. Oh man, that was such a great moment in rock history. At least, in *my* rock history.

Okay, what next. I talked about myself, I hawked some records, I touched on 70’s rock (rock!). Hey, how about some art talk. I know, that’s not what you signed up for. But I read a piece in the New York Times yesterday about Jeff Koons’ attempt (or, at least, his lawyers attempt) to stake out some kind of copyright claim on the use of, ahem, balloon dogs. Yes, balloon dogs. Granted, Koons has used the image repeatedly in his art. But how an artist who appropriated the image in the first place can then make some kind of rights claim when a store tries to sell balloon dog bookends is absurd. Maybe the whole dust-up is some kind of public performance art piece from Koons? Man, I hope so. But I doubt it. If you care to read about contemporary art world silliness, head over here…http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/arts/design/20suit.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=balloon%20dogs&st=cse.

Oh, one more thing – did you know Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark were touring? Me neither. Did you know that they released a record last year? Me neither. Did you even know that they, like the Psychedelic Furs, were very, very cool bands before Pretty In Pink made them, ummm, not very cool bands. Okay, can’t really blame the movie as both bands made a very calculated move toward the pop mainstream and each, I suppose, got exactly what they wanted. But from 1985 on, they both more or less sucked. But again, haven’t heard the new one. Yet. Just downloaded. And while I am a very cynical guy when it comes to reunions, this is one I’m going to have to attend. Here’s hoping there’s more “She’s Leaving” and less “If You Leave.”

Have a great weekend, kevin