Sub Pop Records is following in the footsteps of the Merge and Saddle Creek imprints by rewarding the purchaser (remember them?) with free, official MP3 downloads directly from the label, via a coupon found inside all forthcoming vinyl LPs. Yes! Give the vinyl purchaser something special, or at least hold hands on the path down to the iPod or 10-cent blank CD. I'm all for this common sense approach in a world where music is becoming exchangeable files instead of (geezer alert!) collectable physical artifacts, linked together by a discernable, evolutionary timeline. The first LP to contain a unique coded coupon is Tuesday's release of
The Shins' Wincing the Night Away. ...
Everybody remembers his or her first, remarkable concert experience. The one where you ditched your parents, hitchhiked to a show without a ticket, nearly died in the pit or felt the earth shake and realized, this is it, this is where I belong. These are my people. For me, it was Bob Seger opening for KISS in 1976, when one of the guys in my church youth group talked an adult into driving us downtown to see, ahem, a "musical." Bam! We knew where he parked the car and we knew he wouldn't drive home without us. I pine for the old days of festival seating in huge arenas, with the electricity of real, palpable danger in the air, the warm, jovial sight of five Iron Horsemen peeing in a garbage can and scoring a bootleg concert T-shirt for five bucks in the parking lot after the show. I have a friend, who, in my humble opinion, holds the golden trifecta of concert experiences, having witnessed The Beatles, Woodstock and The Sex Pistols. Try topping that. I will always treasure seeing Jeff Buckley turn a laundromat into a chapel, watching Run DMC rock the mic on the streets of Hollis, Queens, in 1983 and Big Black playing their swan song in a former house of ill repute on the banks of the Ohio River. Like pages from a secret diary, the Da Capo Press has collected 50 writers reliving their most memorable concert-going experiences in The Show I'll Never Forget, a fantastic book of essays that burn with hilarious and touching epiphany. With notable contributors Harvey Pekar, Chuck Klosterman, Thurston Moore, Charles R. Cross and Maggie Estep, a number of serious authors also took editor Sean Manning's invitation, including Max Allen Collins, Tracy Chevalier, Diana Ossana and the poet Paul Muldoon. Highlights include Thomas Beller's memories of a police beat-down at a Kinks concert at Madison Square Garden, Heidi Julavits' history with bad boys who love Rush, and Christian Death co-founder John Albert's confessional disconnect as an LA outcast brawling to Black Flag at the Hong Kong Café. Highly recommended.
Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno welcomes Five for Fighting Thursday and Switchfoot Tuesday. The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Alicia Keys Monday and The Shins Tuesday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien presents The Holmes Brothers Wednesday. Last Call with Carson Daly saddles up Gov't Mule Friday. And Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is AFI.
New Releases Coming Tuesday
Animal Collective People (Fat Cat) Australian tour EP featuring a live version of the single; The Bird and the Bee - The Bird and the Bee (Metro Blue) anticipated full-length debut from the boy-girl duo named by The Los Angeles Times as one of "10 Bands on the Horizon for 2007"; Black Diamond Heavies Every Damn Time (Alive) raw Southern Blues Punk duo; Chrome Cranks Diabolical Boogie: Singles, Demos and Rarities (Atavistic) two-CD set; Rob Crow - Living Well (Temporary Residence) third homegrown solo album from the Pinback frontman; Deerhoof Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars) featuring 12 different interchangeable CD covers by painter David Shrigley; Julie Doiron Woke Myself Up (Jagjaguwar) with collaborator Rick White of Eric's Trip; Tony Furtado Thirteen (Funzalo) featuring covers of Elton John's Take Me to the Pilot" and The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again"; The Good, The Bad, and The Queen - The Good, The Bad, and The Queen (Virgin) new from Paul Simonon of The Clash, Simon Tong of The Verve and Damon Albarn of Blur under the production of Danger Mouse; Herbert - 100 lbs (!K7 Records) pumping Techno reissue with a bonus B-sides disc; The Hotel Alexis - Goliath, I'm On Your Side (Broken Sparrow) tender, daydream Americana glowing in pedal steel, vibraphone and mellotron; Dustin Kensrue Please Come Home (Equal Vision) solo effort from the Thrice frontman; John Mellencamp - Freedom's Road (Universal) with guest Joan Baez; Menomena Friend and Foe (Barsuk) oddly melodic loop-driven, lava-lamp experimental trio reminiscent of Peter Gabriel scoring a Tim Burton film; Only Crime Virulence (Fat Wreck Chords) slamming Buzz Punk at the speed of GBH, featuring Bill Stevenson of the Descendents and Russ Rankin of Good Riddance; Kenny Wayne Shepherd 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads (Reprise) CD/DVD road trip documentary featuring Double Trouble, Etta Baker and B.B. King; Billy Strayhorn Lush Life (Blue Note) CD companion to PBS's Independent Lens documentary to air Feb. 6, with special guests Elvis Costello and pianist Hank Jones; Tony Trischka - Double Banjo Bluegrass Special (Rounder) with guests Earl Scruggs, Alison Brown, Bela Fleck and comedian -- and smokin' banjo picker -- Steve Martin; VietNam -- VietNam (Kemado) killer, sonic Acid Blues quartet from Brooklyn, flicking funky, majestic pot liquor like vintage Alice Cooper backed by The Bottle Rockets, chewing peyote and channeling the ghosts of Roky Erickson; featuring special guests Jenny Lewis and Maroon 5's Jesse Carmichael; Paul Weller Hit Parade (Yep Roc) four-CD box set or single-CD "Best Of," collecting solo work and tracks by The Jam and Style Council; Various Artists Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1973 (Rhino) fantastic five-CD box set also available in a $200 12-by-12-inch deluxe edition with a hardcover book, prints, postcards and a CD-ROM; Various Artists - Om Chilled: Relax, Recline Unwind... (Om) sleek, stoned, tinkled and crinkled down-tempo grooves from Land Shark, The Moves and the Tarantulaz featuring Monique Bingham.
