Ask yourself, was Command Records the, quote, unquote, World Leader in Recorded Sound? By 1963, the label certainly had its hands in the modern design pie, and the ink-wealth to produce brilliantly displayed, throwaway inserts for its lavish releases. Featured here is an insert to Dick Hyman’s Electrodynamics, an album I could swear I touched upon in my previous 1111 (days) posts… but apparently not. Anyway, dig this layout, and more importantly, dig Command Records and their proclamation of the World Leader in Recorded Sound.
Monthly Archives: February 2016
Fit to Print
Often forgotten in today’s new vinyl purchases is a label’s catalog. So often the printed word is given way to a link to a well polished website with all pertinent information, but as a consumer of the physical, analog medium, it’s comforting to find a catalog every now and again. Kudos to you, Alternative Tentacles!
Getting Ready
2/28 can’t come fast enough!
Sunday, Feb 28
Feb. 28 is gonna be a busy one. Punk Rock BBQ at Liquid Kitty followed by Drive Like Jehu at The Echoplex. Sleep, a secondary notion, may very well be optional. Muddy details notwithstanding, if you’re in the West Los Angels area and you can stomach quality music… LIQUID KITTY.
Music’s Leading Man
Meet Andre Kostelanetz is a fascinating compilation of easy listening classical jazz from 1955. Made up of a handpicked selection of Kostelanetz’s earlier Columbia Records recordings, Meet Andre Kostelanetz features, among others, cuts from Carmen, The Nutcracker Suite, and classic Gershwin, while beautifully offering hi-res (albeit small), full color images of his previous Columbia Records releases. A great companion for early evening ambient noise while prepping for dinner or cleaning out the fishtank, Meet Andre Kostelanetz is a perfect introduction to this brilliant and hard working Russian conductor.
(Less Than) Mystery Sticker
Not much of a mystery after all, especially considering the last track, but the lack of band reference on this promotional sticker is slightly interesting, if at the very least moderately comical. Although this sticker has (clearly) seen better days, the music within this (not-so) cryptic album remains as timeless as hypocrisy itself. Stay angry, my friends.
The Hiatus is Bag Off, Again
I can’t say I remember acquiring this plastic CD bag on or around June 15th, 2004, and I’d forgotten all about it until it jumped out at me this morning while searching for my birth certificate. Birth certificate… nowhere to be found, but the hiatus is back off as far as this nifty bag is concerned. (Notice the Brooklyn Dust Music logo at the bottom. Classic.)
Hornet Infested Tire Swings
I’ve been an avid listener of The Statler Brothers, long before I knew who they were. WXRO, Dodge County’s home to early 80s country (my grandparents’ favorite channel), blew out boom-chicka tune after boom-chicka tune of earnest, earworm, country ballads. Often heard filling the warm, rural walls of the busy farm house were the elegant harmonies of this magnificent quartet. Listening to them now takes me back to a much more simple time. One filled with Miller Lite pull tabs, and hornet infested tire swings.
Unforgiven Rants… One Should Get What They Pay For
Finishing up my Tim Hardin discography has been a frustrating and bitter experience. Having paid handsomely for his last album, Unforgiven, only to have it mysteriously disappear without a trace or explanation from USPS has left me to question online orders altogether. I could care less about my $40… but I’ll be damned if I’ll pay another $40 ($80 in total) for another copy… on principle alone, dammit!! Sure, I may be slow to let the anger subside, (truthfully, aren’t we all?) but with time, and a Discogs.com Wantlist, I’ve logically returned to my senses. This, a recent online order, was a domestic shipment of a Russian pressed record. It came perfectly packaged, and was adequately and promptly delivered (meaning I got something I paid for). USPS is still on my shit list, as, I imagine, it is for the bulk of you, but with hostile acceptance for wrongful treatment aside, and however described, this household is able to enjoy the subtle genius of yet another Tim Hardin pressing.
The Prudent Groove 