Hey folks, here’s a collection of a few links to cool things to look into from across the web (including a little shameless self-promotion):
While I have always loved the idea of displaying records framed on the wall like the pieces of art that they are, I have never actually done it myself. This is mostly because I buy my records to listen to, so I would be frustrated to hang a record that I love, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to play it without going through the hassle of taking it down and dismantling the frame. Luckily, Los Angeles’ Art of Records has come up with a nifty new solution to this problem:
The Clrcase is a frameless, protective display case that allows you to hang your record (even gatefolds!) on the wall and access it in order to handle or listen to it within seconds. It also has a cool feature that allows you to alternatively display the bare vinyl instead of the cover, if you wanted.
Definitely check it out and if it interests you, you should check it out and donate. PS: Preorders are going on now! (@artofrecords)
Drop out!
Drag City Records, a beloved name in cult music new and old, will be releasing the first ever reissue of the mono mix of Pearls Before Swine’s classic debut record, One Nation Underground. This is nuts. I have been a huge Pearls fan for ages and I somehow never heard of any of their records having unique mono mixes before and I usually follow Drag City’s newsletters religiously, but I somehow missed this.
Well, new to me or not, it’s exciting news that this version of the album will be made easily available once again. Additionally, it’s just great to see Pearls getting some attention and love again. They were one of the most original and uncompromising acts of the 1960s, blending psychedelic surrealism with Dylan-esque lyrics and occasional Fugs/garage rock defiance.
Seeing this classic album coming back on the same label as some of the biggest names in recent abstract, folk-inspired music like Joanna Newsom, Six Organs of Admittance and Helena Espvall makes this feel like the group has really come full circle. They even got Tom Rapp, the now retired and sort of reclusive main man behind Pearls Before Swine, to write some liner notes. This is ABSOLUTELY not a release to miss out on.
You can preorder the album on LP, CD and digital right now: http://www.dragcity.com/products/one-nation-underground
Speaking of acid folk…
If you follow me on Instagram (@recordcratesunited) you are already aware that I have an autumn mix up on Mixcloud. Just in case though, I wanted to share it here.
As you’ve read in my last post, I strongly associate the fall with the sounds of English folk and psychedelic/acid folk, so I have been making an autumn mix of music by artists that fall into these loose genres every year for ages. I have been uploading them to 8tracks.com since 2011, but since the site requires a paid account to access it, I decided to move over to the free (for now) Mixcloud. This year’s playlist really took on a life of it’s own and became quite large, so I decided to split it up into two parts. The first volume is below and I’ll post the second one sometime in mid-October (I like to spread things out a bit).
You can see the whole track listing on the page, but expect the likes of Trees, Sharron Kraus, Maddy Prior and Sandy Denny as well as the occasional bits of real autumnal ambience added in to really give you the feeling that you’re listening to these songs on a cold, dark and damp fall day in the forest somewhere.
Record Crates United 