As you may already know, but I’ll state it nonetheless for those who do not, I have a weekly radio show on KSVR Mount Vernon, KSVU Hamilton and KSJU Friday Harbor. You can tune in via the respective dial pinpoints if you live within those townships, or you can stream from KSVR.org. We will be hosting our pledge drive in April, so I thought I’d kick things off by doing something no other station in Skagit or (to my knowledge) the surrounding areas does: a vinyl only night.
My March 29 show featured an array of genres, but all had one thing in common: they all were pressed onto 12-inches of wax.
Set #1
“Sharpshooters” by BOAT off Pretend to be Brave
Notes: Opening track off the new BOAT record! I was among the first to pre-order the album when it became available, so I got a pretty sweet cassette featuring friends of BOAT (including Throw Me The Statue, each covering a song off the new album!
“Room Games and Diamond Rain” by Silver Jews off Bright Flight
Notes: Bright Flight is the only record I own on vinyl by Silver Jews; I have yet to listen to it in its entirety, but “Room Games and Diamond Rain” makes me want to change that as soon as possible.
Set #2
“Lysandre’s Theme” and “Here We Go” by Christopher Owens off Lysandre
Notes: Christopher Owens is the former front-man of Girls. The two tracks I played are the first two off his debut album under his own name. Here are my initial thoughts upon first hearing these tunes.
“Ghosts & Creatures” by Telekinesis off Dormarion
Notes: I think “Ghosts & Creatures” is the strongest tune yet by Telekinesis and Michael Lerner. I covered the track back in January and subsequently preordered Dormarion on LP; came with a 7″ flexi-disc featuring a demo of the track.
Set #3
“Down By the River” by Low + Dirty Three off In the Fishtank 7
Notes: I always forget how great the In the Fishtank series is. I also have In the Fishtank 11, featuring The Black Heart Procession and Solbakken.
“One Hand Loves the Other” by Bodies of Water off Twist Again
Notes: 2011’s Twist Again never seemed to catch on in my playlist as much as Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink from 2007 and A Certain Feeling from 2008. “One Hand Loves the Other”, however, is a truly amazing song.
Set #4
“Juarez Wedding” by Federale off The Blood Flowed Like Wine
Notes: Below is a live version of the song, which opens Federale’s stellar brand new album.
“The Blood Flowed Like Wine” by Federale off The Blood Flowed Like Wine
Notes: The title track to their new album is also, by far, my favorite. Federale is quoted to record and release music that finds a clever middle ground between psychedelic rock and spaghetti western. Truly fit for a Quentin Tarantino film.
“Lazy Bones” by Wooden Shjips off West
Notes: The Walking Dead originally turned me onto Wooden Shjips, though I had heard of the band long before I watched Rick and Shane pull Randall from the trunk and prepare to leave him in an abandoned industrial yard. This video will give you a seizure.
Set #5
“Please Be My Third Eye” by La Sera off Sees the Light
Notes: This is my favorite song by La Sera so far. Pretty great video too.
“When I’m Gone” by Vivian Girls off Everything Goes Wrong
Notes: Yet another tune with Kickball Katy (i.e. La Sera) at the helm. Vivian Girls also features Cassie Ramone who you’ll now find in The Babies.
Set #6
“Lose That Dress” by Versus off Secret Swingers
Notes: Kicking off my 90s set is Versus. I totally forgot I had this record; sooo good!
“Artificial Light” by Rainer Maria off A Better Version of Me
Notes: When I first got into indie music around 2000 or so, Rainer Maria’s “Artificial Light” was among the first songs I fell in love with.
“Terrified of Flight” by 764-HERO off Weekends of Sound
Notes: Fun fact – 764-HERO is what you dial when you see someone illegally using the carpool late in Seattle. “Terrified of Flight” is my favorite track of their LP Weekends of Sound.
Set #7
“Sore Toes & Elbows” by BOAT off Songs That You Might Not Like
Notes: The song below is the track that made me fall in love with this song. It’s been around since 2006 or so, which is when BOAT released their debut LP. So very glad they finally decided to give it proper release.
“Craig Jr.” by The Lights off Failed Graves
Notes: In the following live video, the band states that their new LP is now available and that they prefer the audience buy it here. Here is Easy Street Recors, which sadly closed a few months ago. I cannot stress this enough: please buy records!
“Don’t Pray for Blood” by See Me River off Time Machine
Notes: I really love this record and would listen to it more. When I originally bought it, my digital download failed to work and I reached out to the label. They never got back to me with my request for help; still miffed about that.
Set #8
“All Night Long” by Darlings off Perfect Trip
Notes: This is the only track I couldn’t find a copy of to embed. Perfect Trip is one of my favorite albums so far this year.
“Radiant Door” by Crystal Stilts off Radiant Door EP
Notes: Another solid release by Crystal Stilts!
“Without A Face” by The Men off New Moon
Notes: Along with Darlings, The Men’s New Moon fits within my top 3 albums of 2013 thus far.
Set #9
“1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound” by Thee Silver Mt. Zion off 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Notes: Everything by Thee Silver Mt. Zion is gold. Here is part 1 of the song; the album is a double LP with one song per side and no song less than 13 minutes.