Author: John

Total Tuscadero Update

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In honor of Tuscadero reuniting to play the Black Cat 20th Annviersary show in DC, I have updated all of my Tuscadero entries with new information.  I have also added three compilations that I had never covered before.

The Joy Formidable Discography

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I am very pleased to announce that I have added a new section to the discography site detailing the albums and singles for the Joy Formidable.  I did not know what to make of this band when I first heard them.  I heard “Whirring” on the radio and immediately raised an eyebrow.  They exhibited the sort of guitar-driven, distorted, big sound that characterized much of the music that I have liked most in my life.  It was a sound that had been sorely missing from the industry since the major label world ate itself in the middle of the ’90s.  I proceeded trepidatiously, having been burned by many others over the years, but the more I dug into the band’s offerings, well, the more I dug it.  The Joy Formidable does have a certain commercial sensitivity to it, but it’s really good anyway.  I swear.  I figured I would swoop in and grab all of their vinyl early on so that it would not cost me huge amounts on the collectors’ market later.  Oops.  It turns out the big ticket items for this band are CDs and CD box sets.  Well, I eventually tracked those down as well.  Now that we have a strong second full-length effort (Wolf’s Law) shredding speakers, an exclusive single due out for Record Store Day, and another big U.S. tour underway, I thought that it was time.  It is a rare case that has me this hooked on a new band these days.  If you have not given the Joy Formidable some of your attention, you should make that happen.

Updates!

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Welcome back!  I have been making little updates to site with some regularity, but I have not been posting about them for some time.  That changes now.  I am currently in the midst of some larger-scale stuff.  When I am done, each entry will have price trending information in addition to the values, which should add a little more useful context to my record valuations.  Next, I am adding “last updated” dates to the bottom of each entry.  This is a work in progress, but I am done updating parts of the site.  The Rocket from the Crypt pages are fully updated.  The content of the Afghan Whigs pages has been fully updated.  Most of the rest of the pages have updates in progress.  Slowly but surely.  I have also been spending some time trying to get my label, Shattered World Music, off the ground.  It turns out this takes time and money.  Who woulda thought?

Tsunami

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I realize that it has been a little while since I last added an indie band’s discography to the site.  Well, here you go…I have finished a discography for the engine that drove the 90’s DC indie scene: Tsunami.  I had held off on this one for a while, in part because they have a pretty extensive discography of their own on the Simple Machines site.  Half of the band, Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson, ran Simple Machines Records, which was a key indie label in the 90’s…I may add in the label’s whole discography at some point, but for now, enjoy my new Tsunami pages.

Seaweed Section Reworked

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I have cleaned up some of the Seaweed entries…I clarified some details for and added images to the Measure single entry, added some pictures to the Bill page, and ramped up the scarcity rating for the yellow Just a Smirk 7″.  Plus, I have added in the new Seaweed single that came out in 2011.

Preposterously Rare Hepcat Alert

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So, I had always thought that the Hepcat Nigel 7″ existed solely on black vinyl.  It is rare enough in that format.  However, after I posted my Hepcat discography, someone clued me in to another version on clear vinyl.  That message board discussion also led to the revelation that there were only 25 copies made on clear vinyl, and most of those were given to the band.  I cannot confirm that part, but I can vouch for the fact that the clear vinyl version is excessively scarce.  That said, the stars seem to have aligned, and I was able to get myself a copy.  This one is either a record collector’s dream and nightmare.  Thanks to Lawless for the heads up.  The value I have placed on it is entirely speculative, but I am ballparking it at $80-100.