For those of us who grew up thumbing through endless peach crates of vinyl records, the thrill of the hunt for coveted slabs of licorice pizza is still alive and forever under the skin. We may not feed the turntable as often or stumble in and out of the long-lost record stores of an earlier era, but the hunger is there. Downloading a selection from iTunes isn't the same as examining a wall of import seven-inch singles, finding the new bass player for your band in the aisles, or hearing Miles Davis for the first time on a battered tube-amp stereo.
Alas, between 2003 and 2006, an estimated 900 record stores here in the U.S. flipped over the "closed" sign at the door for the last time. But geezers, vinyl addicts, and young whippersnappers can rejoice: The Black Dog Publishing house of London has just issued a 142-page love letter to that magical age in Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop. Told through essays and conversations with record junkies all over the planet and lavishly illustrated with album jackets, vintage labels, and photographs of walls of wax, the sense of community, discovery, and obsession is a heady feast of 78s, eight-track tapes, and gatefold albums. Highlights include reflections by Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Devendra Banhart, James Lavelle, and Byron Coley. If you miss the church of the indie record store, this is your new Bible. Further worship is encouraged with an appendix of indie shops both stateside and in the UK.
Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Nickelback tonight, Tenacious D on Thursday, Scott Weiland on Friday, The Jonas Brothers on Monday, and The Killers on Tuesday; The Late Show with David Letterman welcomes the return of Guns N' Roses tonight, Neil Diamond on Thursday, and Kanye West on Monday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Margot & the Nuclear So So's this evening, Brian Wilson on Thursday, and The All-American Rejects on Friday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson features Sarah McLachlan this evening overnight; and The Ellen DeGeneres Show gets chatty with Pink and Bette Midler on Monday.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, November 25
Aceyalone - The Lonely Ones (Decon) with guest Treasure Davis
The Almost - No Gift to Bring (Tooth & Nail) produced by Tim McTague of Underoath
Audio Fiction - Audio Fiction (Liminal Records) full-length debut from this retro-'80s quartet fronted by Kristin Wilson Ryan
Jeff Beck - Performing This Week Live at Ronnie Scott's (Eagle) recorded last year in London, this 16-track collection features a gorgeous, jaw-dropping run at the Beatles' "A Day in the Life"
Bullet for My Valentine - Scream Aim Fire: Deluxe Edition (Jive/Zomba) with three new studio recordings and a bonus DVD with videos and five episodes of the band's own road documentary
David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (Todo Mundo) their first collaboration in almost 30 years; a deluxe edition designed by Sagmeister Inc. features four bonus tracks, a hardbound book, and a short film
Coldplay - Viva La Vida: Prospekt's March (Capitol) two-CD-set deluxe edition adds a new EP and an Osaka Sun remix of "Lovers in Japan" and Guest Jay-Z on "Lost+"
Rivers Cuomo - Alone 2: The Home Recordings (Universal) demos and other oddities going back to 1992, featuring a cover of The Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" and material from the mysterious Weezer rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs (Barsuk) 180-gram-vinyl edition with a bonus seven-inch single of demos
Death Cab for Cutie - Something About Airplanes (Barsuk) 10th-anniversary reissue of the band's debut, featuring new artwork and a bonus disc of an early Seattle concert
Deer Tick - War Elephant (Partisan) hot off tour with The Felice Brothers; this CD reissue from 2007 is also available on two-LP vinyl
The Fireman - Electric Arguments (MPL/ATO) Sir Paul McCartney's alter ego is back with producer Martin "Youth" Glover, a founding member of Killing Joke
Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree (Mute) special-edition reissue with new artwork, bonus videos, and live tracks recorded this past June at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-sea
Good Charlotte - The Greatest Remixes (Daylight/Epic) dance-floor versions from knob-twisters Teddy Reilly, Junior Sanchez, Trouble Maker, White Tie Affair, and Joseph Hahn of Linkin Park
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy (Geffen) get in line for a free Dr. Pepper; in the making since 1994, the most anticipated album in memory is only available at Best Buy
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Live at the Troubadour (Shout! Factory) DVD and two-CD set filmed over two nights earlier this year
Juno: Deluxe - original motion picture soundtrack (Rhino) two-CD edition with the second disc composed of the Juno B-Sides: Almost Adopted Songs, previously only available as a digital download
The Killers - Day & Age (Island) featuring the single "Human"
Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs of the Eighties (Arista) putting his vocal stamp on Wham's "Careless Whisper" and the Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton duet "Islands In the Stream" with Reba McEntire
Moby - Last Night Remixed (Mute) featuring The Freemasons, The Shapeshifters, Seamus Haji, and Holy Ghost!
Nada Surf - LP Box Set (Barsuk) five studio albums pressed in a limited edition of 1,000 LPs, plus a reproduction of the band's first seven-inch single, bonus B sides, and a download code
Paramore - The Final Riot! (Fueled By Ramen) live CD/DVD set filmed this past summer
The Punisher: War Zone - original motion picture soundtrack (Lionsgate) featuring new music from Rob Zombie and the winner of Clear Channel's "Unsigned Artist Contest" earlier this year, plus previously unreleased tracks from Rise Against and Senses Fail
The Rapture - Tapes (!K7 Records) personally selected mix CD with Vaughan Mason & Crew's funky "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" and Richie Havens' "Going Back to My Roots"
R.E.M. - Murmur: Deluxe Edition (IRS/Universal) expanded to two CDs, this remastered reissue from 1983 boasts new liner notes by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, a live concert from Toronto, and a cover of the Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again"
Rush - Snakes & Arrows Live (Zoe Vision/Anthem) three-DVD set filmed with 21 high-definition cameras over two nights in the Netherlands last year
Supersuckers - Get It Together (Mid Fi Recordings) all new from the original Seattle party monsters with the Reverend Horton Heat's former drummer, Scott Churilla, and a bonus live DVD
Scott Weiland - Happy in Galoshes (Soft Drive/New West) sophomore solo album from the Stone Temple Pilots frontman, with guests from No Doubt and production by Steve Albini
White Zombie - Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (Geffen) four-CD box set collecting all of the band's 64 studio recordings going back to 1985's Gods on Voodoo Moon EP, which was only produced in an edition of 300 pressings, plus a bonus DVD of videos
Wicked Lake - original motion picture soundtrack (13th Planet/Megaforce) complied by Al Jourgensen, the CD collects 15 tracks by Prong, Ministry, RevCo, Hemlock, and False Idols
Various artists - Heroes (Astralwerks) nifty tribute collection benefiting War Child's aid to children in war-torn countries across the planet, with invited artists selecting a song of their own and another artist to cover it, highlighted by Beck's rendition of Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" and The Kooks' stab at The Kinks' "Victoria"
