A-Sides/B-Sides

DIGGING VINYL RECORDS IN A DIGITAL WORLD AND GENERALLY ROMANTICISING RECORDED AND LIVE MUSIC

[asidesbsides]

BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES

I took a break. I committed to getting through this, I didn’t want to cheat on Ringo, so podcasts & NPR only. Honestly, I didn’t want to start this, but I prepared myself for the bitter pill. 

First off, I was wrong to expect a blues influenced album here. I should note I’m very much into the record cover. Ringo’s hanging in some type of rural shed, smoking a cig (don’t smoke kids because it’s a terrible life decision but damn it looks cool) and rocking his new bright white tennies. Well played, sir. 

Very much a country turn for Ringo. After a few tracks I’m not into it but I think I’d be happy to hear other artists play these songs. Feels like Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn could have crushed some of these. I not totally selling it short though, $15 Draw seems like it’s been studied by Jack White and with the songs themselves mostly fall between 2-3 minutes (I am a sucker for that) I’m kind of falling for it. By the end, I was not totally unhappy to be listening to this, in fact, I was kind of into it. It’s sooooo loose and just like, happening. Seems like they made the decision to build this, almost as if they were like, “yea, people will put this on the turntable and have to let it play and by the end they are gonna be like questioning their order of favorite Beatles” A big step forward for Ringo no doubt and finding out it came out only five months after Sentimental Journey and was recorded in 3 days in Nashville actually makes me like it.  

High Notes: 

Nashville Jam is the last track and does not feature Ringo singing. Apparently he played drums. It’s awesome.

I’d Be Talking All The Time. I’m a sucker for a singer referencing themselves by name and Ringo delivers here.

In Wine Women And Loud Happy Songs Ringo really struggles to hit pretty much every note but the fact that it made the record makes me love it. I’m 

Coochy Coochy is legit. Apparently there is a 28 minute b-side version of this that they never released and I need it. 

Low Notes: Give it a few tracks and just let it grow on you...

[asidesbsides]

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

What can I say except that this was a rough ride. It’s all standards done by the man himself. I was a few songs in and thought, “no this can’t be what the whole album is, is it?” Yes, indeed it is. I’m going to go into listening to every record with no context, so I won’t read about them until after I listen. So in reading about this album, I feel the way I suppose I thought I’d feel about  most of Ringo’s catalog in that I will dislike the records themselves, then I’ll research the story, probably find it quite charming and yet still never listen to them again. But I won’t hate it.  

I wondered, what shall I do with my life now that it's over? I was brought up with all those songs, you know, my family used to sing those songs, my mother and my dad, my aunties and uncles. They were my first musical influences on me. So I went to see George Martin and said: 'Let's do an album of standards, and to make it interesting we'll have all the arrangements done by different people".[5]

— Ringo Starr

[asidesbsides]

THE SOLO WORK OF THE BEATLES

I’m super familiar with The Beatles catalog but my knowledge and time with the solo work is spotty at best. Lennon and McCartney; decent. George; one record. Ringo; close to none and I’ve always stacked in that order, but maybe I’m wrong. So I’m going to climb the mountain and I’m starting with the what I think will be the toughest slog, Ringo. 20 studio records. Wish me luck.  

[headunderwater]

RIP Dave Brubeck

Now, this might be the whitest statement ever, but he was/is my favorite Jazz composer. So to celebrate his life, here is a 30 minute video filmed in Belgium in October 10th, 1964.

Setlist St Louis Blues - 0:00 Koto Song - 8:11 Three To Get Ready - 14:12 In Your Own Sweet Way (Brubeck) - 18:30 Take Five - 24:39

Lineup Dave Brubeck - Piano Paul Desmond - Alto Saxophone Joe Morello - Drums Gene Wright - Bass

[asidesbsides]

Winter usually means a bit more jazz. Check out this film, dudes could play. 

[asidesbsides]

MEWITHOUTYOU

TEN STORIES

Format: 12" Ice Blue Vinyl

Released: 2012, May 15

Label: Mewithoutyou

Finding the beauty in Mewithoutyou can be difficult. There are no slow builds to a musical apex. Melodies are unfamiliar and the vocals unique. Often it seems players are independent of each other. Dynamics are at a premium, yet everything flows in the same direction. Ten Stories is about just that. A collection of songs joined together by a singular incident, a traveling circus train derailment, this record is as interesting and uncommon as that concept. And with the record, Mewithoutyou continue as the bright and hopeful champion of the unconventional. 

[asidesbsides]

JIMMY EAT WORLD

Format: Double 12" Black Vinyl

Released: 1999, February 23 (reissued 2009, 10 year anniversary reissue)

Label: Capitol

Like an old friend, one you spent a summer with, observing, learning, becoming who you are. White's and Orazio's, 3 am radio station ambushes, backyard bonfires and one-off recording sessions. Arguing the merits of Harry Potter, Vonnegut or the validity of reading print in general. These are the things that make albums autobiographical. The ultimate and end-all. I will always remember who told me to start Clarity with "Goodbye Sky Harbour";once for me a joy ride, taken for the fun of reckless thrill, is, right now, the saddest song in the world. Thank you for everything, you were a good friend. 

[cuddlingisoptional]

[badassesandbeards]

RIP Adam Yauch. This world will miss your genius.

[asidesbsides]

That's the short of it. The long of it is that Adam Yauch had one of those legendary voices that you recognize for being his and only his and the Beastie Boys are one of those transcendent groups. They did for a later generation what The Beatles did before them; bring a genre from fringe to mainstream by creating something that no one had ever done before. Most will say that the Beastie Boys are a genre defining hip hop group, but to me they are one of the most punk rock bands of all time. By creating music that was unique in every way and albums that deliver tracks that you want to play over and over as well as songs that you just don't get until one day you do, they endure as legends. I have a feeling they would think I am full of shit for writing that.

Personally, I got deep into the Beastie Boys in Jr. High when my favorite bands were NOFX and Rancid but my best friend and future 4 year locker partner, Ryan "the butt" Butler was deep into old school hip hop. The Beasties were our common ground. We played the Beasties loud and obnoxiously enough that our parents would wonder "what the hell is that?" which seemed to us to be exactly the point. In high school "Fight for your right" was our growing groups of friends anthem and mantra while "Sabotage" and "So What'cha Want" was our fuel. And my love affair continued as we all moved on to do our own things. We grew older and embraced the elder-statesmen status they enjoyed. A friend and I often discuss the Beasties, always mentioning how MCA's voice is the best of the group. Our house parties always feature a heavy dose of selections from Ill Communication, Check Your Head, Hello Nasty, License to Ill and Hot Sauce Committee pt. 2. 

The music world will be a strange place for me without knowing that Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys are out there, the elder-statesmen that they are, working on another great record. It's hard to think of another group that has endured as long as the Beastie Boys and continued to put out great work time after time that I actually anticipate listening to. 

Adam Yauch, you will be missed greatly.

-Michael Lojkutz

[asidesbsides]

ST. VINCENT

KROKODIL

Format: 7" red vinyl

Released: 2012, April 21 (RECORD STORE DAY ONLY RELEASE)

Label: 4AD

With an endless string on similarly touted artists emerging in the last few years, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. Krokodil will likely be that record for St. Vincent because of its very limited vinyl-only release. And maybe that is the intent as it stands out of St. Vincent's catalog like a loud and obtuse being in what has so far seemed a very precise and calculated path. Complexity gives way to simplicity and the beauty that usually finds its way onto St. Vincent tracks is drown by distorted power, begging the question; are these tracks supposed to be buried? Even the non-descript packaging seems to want to be forgotten in the record bins of it's owner.  Is this the product of a darkness cast upon the lush forest that is St. Vincent or is the simply the continuing of a moody C.S. Lewis like body of work? For my money, it is an excellent addition to what is an interesting voyage of St. Vincent, leaving much left to discover.

[peterghoffman]

Archives: 2011 - Jeff Tweedy, lead singer of Wilco at his recording space in the Wilco Loft, right before “The Whole Love” was released - for NYLON Guys 

[asidesbsides]

Photo by my good friend Peter Hoffman

Grooming by my beautiful wife, Elisa Vekkos-Lojkutz

[asidesbsides]

BATMAN

Format: 12" Black Vinyl

Released: 1975

Label: Power Records

Spoken word recordings are about as popular as typewriters; they exist, but only a small group of people finds them useful. This Batman record was passed down to me through family, although when I look back at a timeline of when this record came out and who in my family might have been listening to it, the details seem fuzzy. In any case, it’s a nostalgia piece, a relic from a different era; one kids of today would not recognize or believe was so close in time to their own. Two short stories appear per side, narratives that unfold for our capped crusader to wrap up in around 10 minutes. The recordings are as crisp as anything you might find on NPR, but still sound of a completely different time. If there is a University looking for a new class to put in next years course catalog covering the evolution of post World War II American culture through are arts, Batman should appear on that syllabus. 

[asidesbsides]

MEWITHOUTYOU

Mewithoutyou returns with a song that brings them back to their multi-layered, dark and beautiful past selves. Pre-order starts here April 17th, deluxe LP version promised. 

[asidesbsides]

[asidesbsides]

When someone figures out a better way to release a record, please let us know.

[asidesbsides]

BRENDAN LOSCH - SON OF A GUN

With the ushering in of spring comes a song that, if the season had a soundtrack, would appear on it. A song traveling the Midwest landscape with no particular destination in mind except the grace of new growth's vibrant color.  We are not yet in full bloom but are making are way towards it. And if hope springs eternal, the entire record will carry that same sentiment on its 4.10.2012 release. 

Check out the song above and click to be directed to more info

[asidesbsides]

CONSTANTINES

TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

Format: 12" White Vinyl

Released: 2005, October 11

Label: Sub Pop

As artists go, Constantines are as supremely underrated, like many generation's greatest tend to be. This 2005 release, recorded to tape, captured something different than the anger and confusion of a post 9/11 America. A melancholy heartbreak told in the intimate low spoken language of lovers on humid early summer nights in a city that's best times left it years ago. Not lost but battered, Constantines craft a record that plays more accurately today than it did on its release. Where fellow Canadians Arcade Fire would take Springsteen at his most decadent, Constantines took him at his most honest and desperate. Moving forward, but not exactly sure how or where, Tournament of Hearts feels like an honest mans prose in the commonplace of everyday life.