A reminder that the revised, more exciting and, frankly, prettier version of this blog - Just Played - continues to cover all of the best new music, along with other random musings, over at http://justplayed.wordpress.com.
Hello dear reader of Vinyl Junkies. You are clearly a person of exceptional taste and somebody who probably spends slightly too long on the net. Nothing wrong with that, I just thought it best to tell you that you now need to waste a small fraction of your internet time in a different corner of the web from the one you're currently visiting. I've decided that Vinyl Junkies has reached the end of its life span. This site is looking quite tired now and the name is a little confusing as people think it refers to either a record shop in London or some club night or other. As much as I love vinyl, and I really do, the main thing I write about is music, not the format. And so, Just Played is born.
To visit, luxuriate in its (not especially well tinkered with just yet, but I'll get there) splendour and generally nosey about, please redirect your bookmark to the following address:
http://justplayed.wordpress.com/
From here on, it's highly unlikely that I'll be doing any updating on this site and I've carried over ALL of the posts from this blog to the new one, so it'll all still be there. Please visit!
There's a new email address for any comments you'd like to make but would prefer not to post on the blog: justplayed@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks for taking the time over the last five years of Vinyl Junkies - firstly on a makeshift website, then this blog - to have a read, post a comment or even visit your local record shop. You're a truly lovely person. Just make sure you follow, ok?
Well, it looks like I've found somewhere else to spout about records on a monthly basis after a lengthy hiatus. May say a little more when it's confirmed. It's a nice feeling anyway, after a couple of years of not being able to say, "I'm in WH Smith" to loved ones, friends and bemused strangers.
Anyway, it looks like I'll need to be even more concise with my words than I used to be. As if trying to write about music wasn't difficult enough in the first place, this is a right bugger because it pretty much guarantees that you can't set the scene. So, in an attempt to get myself back into old habits, I present the first offerings in a terribly exciting selection of 20 words reviews. Feel free to contribute some yourself. It might even be fun.
The Divine Comedy - Regeneration
National Express man loses orchestra, suit and raised eyebrow but gains long hair, weird noises and Godrich production. Oddly undervalued.
The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends
National Express man regains orchestra, suit and raised eyebrow but loses sense of fun and retreads past to limited effect.
Blur - Think Tank
Not much Graham, too much Fatboy Slim. Often chilled, sometimes heartbreaking and - whisper it now - actually Blur's best album yet.
U2 - No Line On The Horizon
Crap. Cack. Shit. Toss. Balls. Plop. Shite. Icky. Smug. Piffle. Cobblers. Codshit. And, just for variety like, absolute smoldering arse.
Suddenly that two years hiatus makes sense, doesn't it?
Good old Graham Coxon. Not only is he a member of one of the greatest bands of recent times, creator of one of the early contenders for 2009's album of the year and one of the few musicians willing to contribute honestly and openly to online discussion boards, but he's pioneering exciting and alternative ways to make money out of music. As huge fans of music, this can only be pleasing news for us, as the more that musicians develop ways to make releasing tunes into the current climate viable, the more great music we'll continue to be graced with.
Coxon's new single, 'Sorrow's Army', is available in one format only. An art print. Ok, that art print comes with a download code for that track, but the release itself is something you can't actually play. The print itself is rather lovely (click to see the image, as uploaded by 'salmon' from the Blur forum) and sets you back £4-£5 depending on where you purchase it from. Not bad for an art print and it's worth remembering that the song on its own would have sold for 79p. Not a bad mark up. Naturally, art prints aren't suddenly going to become the format du jour, but it's a great example of an artist adapting to the rapidly changing commercial nature of music selling. Graham's fans all seem pretty chuffed with the item and it'll be raking in the cash for his record label. It's certainly a more appealing alternative format than the USB releases that Keane and Ed Harcourt have attempted of late and, while I'd never have considered buying 'Sorrow's Army' as a single, having already purchased the rather splendid album, 'The Spinning Top', my five quid went winging its way to Transgressive Records quicker than, well, much quicker than they actually sent the bloody thing, but we won't dwell on that.
This seems like a good time to mention just how utterly terrific his new album is. I'm not sure what I was expecting from it - certainly not what I got. The Record Store Day exclusive 10" of 'In The Morning' gave a pretty decent indicator, with eight minutes of acoustic splendour, gentle vocals and a delicate touch not normally associated with solo Coxon.
Two immediate highlights are the aforementioned, 'In The Morning', and 'Look Into The Light'. Listen to both below.
See? Now go and buy the album.
What, you need more convincing and a more persuasive pitch?
'The Spinning Top' is Graham's masterpiece, lengthy but enthralling, beautifully sung and exquisitely rendered. There are touches of Nick Drake, particularly on 'Look Into The Light', and, as he's explained in numerous interviews, the music of Davey Graham sent him off in this direction in the first place. Gently affecting, hugely understated and unlikely to immediately strike you as a stone cold classic, 'The Spinning Top' slowly abducts each and every heart string until suddenly the one, almighty tug brings you on side and from that point onwards there's no looking back.
Now go and buy the album.
Long time readers of this blog will remember how I used to get ever so slightly too excited about Bank Holiday Monday trips to my local indie emporium when, with literally no logic to back this up, I used to spend without impunity, somehow convincing myself that money spent on a bank holiday doesn't count. Actually, now I think about it, what with it being a day when banks have a holiday, that's not quite such an idiotic idea. Still quite an idiotic idea, mind.
Anyway, said days are long since gone, what with most of the record stores in the whole world having closed down. I'm now left to take my chances with whatever I can find. And so I found myself in a hotel in Derby this morning, flicking through boxes of mainly second-hand vinyl. Most of it, it must be said, was toss. If you ever need a battered copy of any Tina Turner album, a record fair's the place for you. In fact, if you ever need seventeen battered copies of any Tina Turner album, a record fair's the place for you. Sadly, it also appears to be the place for people who get so lost in the supermarket that they never quite find the aisles for soap and deodorant. Sadly, despite the late, great Joe's claim, they can still shop happily. Still, there should be a little corner of the world for everybody and, just like the New Year Sale in HMV is the place for the chronically flatulent, record fairs seem to be the place for the slightly unwashed.
Not me, I hasten to add. I smell perfectly fine, thanks. Anyway, after flicking through the aforementioned tat, I alighted upon a stall selling new stuff. It dawned on me how infrequently I actually get to physically hand over the cash for vinyl these days. The charming bloke I ended up buying a few records from, whose name I can't remember - something like Dave, told me that the record-selling business is so shit these days that he's just resorted to record fairs and "my Vauxhall Cavalier." As a result of these circumstances, most of my record buying occurs online. Not through choice, so much as lack of options.
This neatly dovetails with a request from a rather splendid chap (who has recently directed people to this site from his own rather fine corner of the interweb) for a general guide to picking up vinyl at decent prices. So, provided you don't all start buying everything I want before I can get it, I present:
The Vinyl Junkies guide to buying vinyl
I know, imaginative title, eh?
1. Indie stores online
First and foremost, if you're after new release vinyl that isn't just the latest overly-loud, overly-pompous and overly... well, shit, U2 album then you'll need to identify a few indie retailers who cater for tastes similar to yours.
My chosen benefactors are the splendid people at Norman Records, who I've mentioned previously.
They stock pretty much all the new release stuff you could wish for and, almost always, at the best price you'll find online. They ship the items in very sturdy packaging and turn around orders pronto. Their communication is second to none and often rather amusing. Decent sized orders tend to come with a few sweet - works for me - and they publish weekly reviews of an irreverent nature which carry the following advisory message:
Warning: stay away if you're going to be all offended by us slagging off your favourite artist. We reserve the right to hold an opinion!
The one thing to bear in mind is postage. Vinyl is heavy and bulky and will always require a few quid bunged on top of your order. That said, order more than £50 worth in one go and shipping is free!
There are a few other indie retailers I frequent:
Action Records - The shop in Preston is lovely, the web service is quick and pretty competitively priced. I use them for reasonably recent back catalogue stuff. If you're after something from the last five years, and it's not already super-rare, Action are a good bet.
What Records - Now online only. Vast stock, lots of upfront listings in order to ensure you can get hold of very limited pressings and very secure shipping. Neither particularly keen on obscure stuff nor the cheapest, What is pretty dependable for the rare stuff.
Leaning more towards electronic music than Norm, but covering similar ground, Boomkat is another place to go to for the very limited indie store only pressings and it also does a nice line in flac downloads - not that that's what this post is meant to promote!
2. Catching the big boys getting it wrong
I do so love benefiting from a mis-price by Amazon or HMV. It's double satisfying: knowing you get a bargain and that bargain is directly linked to one of the indie-slayers not making so much money. As a technique, it only really works on pre-orders and you'll need to get in early. Online retailers, or etailers if you will, try to outdo each other in terms of getting things listed first in a bid to get extra sales. As a result, this doesn't always lead to entirely accurate listings. HMV listed the Oasis vinyl box set for 'Stop The Clocks' as a single vinyl at £12.99 delivered for a month. Amazon were gladly flogging the recent Aidan Moffat and the Best Ofs vinyl/CD/bonus CD/7"/Valentine's Card/board game box set as a piece of single vinyl at £13.69 delivered. Peter Doherty's 'Grace/Wastelands' vinyl pressing was £7.98, the same as the CD, delivered for a month. It's all about luck and it's not a guaranteed route to bargains, but it throws up some decent stuff.
3. Caiman on Amazon Marketplace
If it's an album that's getting a release in the US, then a good source of cheap, new vinyl is Caiman USA, Caiman Zone, Caiman Bargain or whatever they're calling themselves at the exact moment when you order. Often charging £8-9 per item, with the stock £1.24 postage on top of that, you can get some real bargains. They tend not to list items until a week or two after release, and those prices don't stay around for long, but they're worth checking for on most new releases.
As for second hand stuff, I can't really offer much more than you already know. Track down your nearest second-hand retailer, keep an eye on eBay auctions that finish in less 'busy' times and search via places like Gemm and Musicstack. That said, car boot sales and record fairs remain the best places to pick up second-hand bargains.
Feel free to leave a comment correcting me, adding extra info or simply sharing your experiences. I enjoy reading about this sort of stuff, honest!
Oh, one last thing. I write a reasonably well-followed blog (which has already been visited by the rather splendid Thomas Pugwash) and yet I've not been sent a promo of The Duckworth Lewis Method's new album to review. I'm naturally quite hurt. That said, a rather positive review will be appearing at the aforementioned splendid chap's aforementioned site shortly.
EDIT: The Duckworth Lewis situation has picked up. Yay.
