Vinylcast

A Misfits album, white colored vinyl, 3 Hits from Hell sold on Ebay (here’s the link) for $809.99 on February 22, 2009.  The seller indicated that there were some small black streaks on the white vinyl which he said was common for white pressings.  He gave all the serial numbers, including PL1013 a-b, and master disk stamp R10261 R10262.  What’s important here, is sometimes we don’t know what a record is actually worth.  We look at reference guides, or look on the internet and find forum posts or what-have-you, where “experts” will tell you what they think a record is worth, but it amounts to a pile of beans unless you can see, like in this auction, the actual transaction after the fact.

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So I started running 3 miles a day.  Well, I’m human, so it’d be more accurate to say I try to run every day.  Further, I try to run 3 miles.  Just kidding, sort of, I mean I’m on week two, and am running consistantly 3 miles, non-stop.  That’s a pretty big achievement for me, I’m usually really easy on myself.  What I mean is, I tend to just give myself a break and stop early.

It’s almost like there’s two of me, the one that wants to acheive a goal, and the one during the hard part that says, it’s ok, you don’t really have to right now; you can do what that over-achieving jerk wants you to do, some other time.  For now, just go grab a beer and eat a donut, screw that other guy and his good ideas.

I tend to talk to myself while running, saying things like:  “you are about to die, you can die any moment, your legs are about to trip if you don’t walk, your arms hurt so that can’t be good, you’re older your heart could go out because you are running so fast, you didn’t drink enough water today you are about to pass out and the treadmill will eat your face off if you don’t walk soon”.  Not quite all at once, but just often enough that it sounds reasonable to a reasonable person; just like the person listenening to the other two – the overachiever and the “you dont want to die today” guy.

This time I decided to kill the slacker with a baseball bat.  Don’t get me wrong, over the last week, as I was working up to 3 miles, I gave in to that guy a few times, once at 1 mile, then at 2 miles, because it was so logical to bargain with him…it was a LOGICAL bargain “you can stop after a mile”, then 2 miles.  Once I ran 3 miles non stop, there was no bargain left for him, except the big bargain – at 3 miles you can stop.

I’m looking at the distance-ometer less and less, today I just HAD to look at 2.3 miles.  Today was also my faster, maybe fastest day, with 3 miles at just about 32 minutes.  Sometimes I had to focus on form, when I felt myself starting to trip – I’d usually stop, but in order to not stop, i.e. not trip, I had to remember I was running, and teach my brain that running is still imperative, therefore, this is how, almost like taking manual control over the mechanisms of running, then quickly release the reigns.

I also found that either heavy metal or documentaries are the best.  Documentaries make me think more than movies, and heavy metal’s drive makes me go.  I just imagine myself as Bruce Dickenson in tights running back and forth to 22 Acacia Street, and wonder, why are they striped?  That’s ghey.

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This guy on Ebay is selling a Nirvana Test Pressing and asking a remarkable $25,000.  The album and seller seem legit, but there are no markings on the record.  That’s the problem with test pressings as collectable albums.  I’d think that that is one of the most readily forgeable collector’s items.  Sometimes test presses have some sort of original artwork, or handwritten serial number, but often it’s like this album, just completely white.  There are no catalog numbers, artwork, or engravings to compare to real releases.  Personally I wouldn’t buy a test pressing unless I could verify the chain of owners to the band or label, it’s just too easy to forge.  Especially if I were willing to part with $25,000 for a record.

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David Byrne And Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today On Limited Edition 180g Vinyl

Not only can you get this on vinyl, but the two artists are streaming from their site for free! Visit www.everythingthathappens.com or, since they’re just that cool, they allow any site to embed the player themselves! That’s way open and free, other artists should take note.

They say it’s the culmination of 30 years of not collaborating, and since I just love both artists, booo!  Oh well, at least we have this now.  The vinyl will be released on Feb 19, for about $20.00.  You can buy a digital only copy for about $9.00, and for $2.00 more they’ll send you a plastic dish.  I say go for the analog!

So here it is, have a listen.

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Last night my wife and I enjoyed a sold-out Black Keys concert in Baltimore.  The Ram’s Head Live at the Power Plant area of downtown Baltimore is a nice venue, but I wish that the whole place were used instead of just half.  It makes the entire population of the venue crunch themselves into half the area, while the max population is calculated for the entire area.

The crowded atmosphere, and the fact that The Black Keys have become more mainstream, made for a few annoying people.  Shirl commented more than once that the people at punk rock shows are nicer than the people at the Black Keys show.  One crowd of friends kept backing into my wife until we just shuffled over beyond a support pole, and then the big six-footed high-and-tight goatee’d individual began encroaching our new found space.

Maryland’s no-smoking law makes for attending concerts nicer, although I did smell a little pot in the distance.  I’d much rather smell that than smoke; a bit odd coming from a past smoker, I suppose.

Once we found our “spot” next to an entire family of two generations of music lovers – much better than goatee’s circle of drunk-jocks, we settled down to enjoy the show.  Drummer Patrick Carney started the show a little demure, but by the end, he seemed on full throttle and was an amazing spectical to watch.

Guitarist Dan Auerbach has a very vulnerable job as the sole melody maker.  He’s almost acapella with only a guitar and his buddy on drums who has no vocal microphones to help in a pinch.  I gladly heard the mistakes, quirks, pops and cracks, and fuzz that embodies The Black Keys.  What makes the Keys so great is their impressionistic approach to music, it’s not supposed to be perfect, it’s perfect within it’s imperfections.  It’s what most musicians would call an underpainting, but put on full display, as if they were two high school kids playing in a garage next door.

Auerbach’s voice was as incredible as it is on record.  The big wall of lights behind them was completely over-the-top, and superbly represented the essence of the Keys while contrasting their modest non-rockstar attitude.  The band took several musical interludes, where they would calm down, then build back to the chorus of the song making the sports bar crowd go completely nuts.  Almost every time, during the big release, I found a nice lump in my throat; a sure sign of great rock and roll.

Shirl summed it up perfectly, one of the best shows ever.

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