Thank you, Dave.
Here are the 11 Best Musical Performances on the David Letterman Show:
1. Bruce Springsteen – Glory Days
2. Future Islands – Seasons
3. Foo Fighters – Everlong
4. R.E.M. – So Central Rain
5. Beastie Boys – Ch-Ch-Check It Out
6. Warren Zevon – Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
7. Eminem & Jay-Z – Renegade
8. The Orwells – Who Needs You
9. The Vines – Get Free
10. James Brown – Sex Machine (July 12, 1982)
11. Eddie Vedder – Black
You can’t read anything about Record Store Day anymore without reading some article whose author spends pages of digital content, complaining about the vinyl holiday. “It’s killing independent stores,” “it excludes indie labels,” and it’s only for unnecessary major label titles.” You know what would be worse than Record Store Day? NO RECORD STORE DAY. A world where there is nothing promoting independent records stores, causing them to fade and dissolve into music history alongside the 8-track, mini-disc, and reel-to-reel. But today, music stores are alive and well…in part, thanks to record store day. Record stores having to deal with throngs of audiophiles twice a year (Black Friday) is a way better scenario than dealing with foreclosure. .
Another complaint comes from independent labels themselves who have found their material excluded by the event coordinators. Read here about Father/Daughter’s comp, which seemed like a rather cool release. Sure there are some releases that get excluded…and there are some titles that seem unnecessary. But even if we’re talking about 10% of the titles or even 25% of the released titles being unnecessary…that still leaves 300 great vital releases! Isn’t it worth some crap to get some gold? That said, I’m not even sure how we determine which titles are unnecessary. I read bloggers claiming the Citizen Dick release was the most unnecessary title this year…it’s an unreleased Pearl Jam song from the 1991/Ten era version of the band! I bought it and it’s the title I’ve listened to more than any other release. If someone wants to buy them…then doesn’t that make them necessary? (and the Citizen Dick record just missed this list…so the 12th most popular record flip is somehow unnecessary? Okay…)
That said…it’s hard to determine prior to the holiday which albums will sell out in seconds and which ones will linger until August. Some of the most talked about releases including Courtney Barnett, Brian Eno, and Run The Jewels were still available at stores late on Sunday afternoon. While others (like Brand New) had people lining up the night before. I mean seriously, how is Brand New’s reissue of a 12-year old album that is readily available on Spotify and itunes AND coming out in wide release next month the number one Ebay flip merely because it comes in a paper bag? Every store I visiting had people waiting 12-24 hours for this record.
For this list, I determined the ranking based on list price versus Ebay sale…and what was the greatest increase in comparison to the price. Stereogum lists Jurassic 5’s $100 Ebay sale as a big flip…but the list price was $90 to begin with. That’s only a $10 increase. Same with Phish’s Live 1995 6-disc set that listed at $160 but sold for $200. The biggest flips versus price, I believe, truly shows what were the must-have vinyls of RSD 2015.
Here are the biggest Ebay Flips of Record Store Day 2015:
Honorable Mention:
Paul McCartney’s Sweet Trash sold for a ridiculous $895 but I didn’t include it since it’s signed by Sir Mac (which obviously alters the true value of the vinyl).
Here are some other fun lists:
Tomorrow is the annual fun-loving shopping spree for audiophiles everywhere. Pretty much every music mag/zine/blog/critic/expert has their own top essential purchases they recommend for RSD. I could do the same. But it would just be my recommends for what I really want. Instead, I’ve dug through the net and tallied up everyone else’s list. I’ve created a combo list of the most talked about releases. I was surprised to see only two of my “must buys” on the list. And craziest of all, the number one most talked about release on Record Store Day is…a CASSETTE. Metallica’s reprint of their very first release on cassette is the most talked about release this year. Overall, it’s a pretty solid list with current rockers, classic rockers, rap lords, and some fresh indie faces.
Happy hunting!!!
Here are The 11 Most Talked About Record Store Day Releases:
2. The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
3. Foo Fighters – Songs From The Laundry Room
4. Father John Misty – I Loved You Honeybee
5. J. Dilla – Fuck the Police
6. Run the Jewels -Bust No Moves
7. Courtney Barnett – Kim’s Caravan
8. Sly and the Family Stone – Live at the Fillmore East
9. David Bowie – Changes
10. Brian Eno – My Squelchy Life
11. Willie Nelson – Teatro
Honorable Mentions: Mclusky, Elvis Presley, Sim Dunlap, Phish, Mumford and Sons, and Hanni El Khalib
What are your favorite releases?
Today is the Super Bowl. The day when we celebrate what it means to be American. We eat, drink, watch sports and pass out. Here’s our pre-game warm-up for all you Seahawk fans.
Here are the 11 Best Bands from Seattle (or close by):
Dave Grohl is a fighter. He’s not just a great drummer, singer, guitar chords expert, director, or producer…he’s an innovator. He challenges what is expected of himself, what his fans want from him, and what he’s capable of doing. By creating the Foo’s new album through an HBO documentary in multiple cities with a guest list that any band would beg to have, he’s changed the landscape of who the Foo Fighters are. From an offshoot of Nirvana, the Foos have become their own entity. They are today’s gold standard of rock bands. In taking on a new endeavor, recording in a new way, always runs the risk of failure. The Foos know this…but they put themselves out there anyway. They deserve respect for taking a chance.
This is why I am blown away by Taylor Hawkins recent comments about U2 adding their music to everyone’s itunes library. He claimed it was Orwellian. It’s not. And he obviously didn’t read 1984 to know that he’s misuing the word Orwellian. U2 didn’t giving away their album for free on your itunes is no different than CBS broadcasting the Big Bang Theory on your television. You don’t like it? Don’t watch, don’t listen.
The irony here is that it was the Foo Fighters’ album, “In Your Honor,” that automatically and illegally installed spyware onto your hard drive when you put the compact disc in your computer. I wonder if there’s a word that would describe that type action, when a corporation secretly spies on its customers. It’s a good book Taylor, you should read it.
Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Foo Fighters:
Buy Foo Fighter’s new album, Sonic Highways…now!
Don’t forget to check out our blog’s awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s. Available now! (featuring Foo Fighters)
As difficult as it was to narrow down David Bowie’s career to 111 songs, this list might actually be harder. I honestly believe Dave Grohl has been featured on more albums than David Bowie. Though many of his appearances may be simmered down by some to a mere session drummer guest spot, there’s a distinguishable energy on many of the songs where Grohl leaves his mark. The new album is no different…not to mention…he directed a movie. I was talking to my friend about the new album. For some reason, he didn’t realize who he was…finally after five minutes of explaining he said, “Oh, you mean the guy from Nirvana.” No wonder he does as much shit as he does. Go Dave.
The 11 Best Songs With Dave Grohl That Are Not Nirvana or Foo Fighters Songs:
Buy the Sound Track to Dave Grohl’s documentary, Sound City…now!!!
