Archive for the ‘Records’ Category

Old Smoothie
Record collectors revive the career of Hyattsville soulman George Smallwood

Tom Noble knew only two things about George Smallwood: He had an awesome record and an address.

Slumberland Announces 20th Anniversary Show @ Black Cat

Sweater rockers of the greater D.C. area, it's time to start knitting! Slumberland has just announced a 20th anniversary concert at Black Cat.
Way back in 1989, when DC was still more of an all-hardcore-all-the-time kind of place, Slumberland Records took a chance and pressed its first 7", What Kind of Heaven Do You Want, a [...]

Leak Proof: Krallice, Malakai, Harmonia & Eno, Fresh & Onlys’

The Fresh & Onlys': "Dude's Got a Tender Heart"
San Francisco garage-psych band The Fresh & Onlys offers up a reverb-drenched nugget about a tough guy on wheels. Nothing especially mold-breaking there. But by the end of the first verse, it's apparent that this dude's wheels are only about 47mm in circumference. Narrative-wise, "Dude's Got a [...]

Has the Pushback Begun?

On Sunday, the New York Times ran an article about Jim O'Rourke, an underground overachiever who, in addition to recording his own solo music, has played in Sonic Youth and Gastr Del Sol, and worked in various other capacities with Wilco, Joanna Newsom, and Superchunk.
His latest project is the new solo album The Visitor, a [...]

Mixtape: Noz in Nigeria

A while back I bought a big stack of Nigerian highlife 45s. It's a genre I can't profess to know very much about and many of these artists are nigh-ungooglable. Still they sound good. I ripped them into my itunes because 7" vinyl is a frustrating format that will destroy your life with carpal [...]

“We’re Alcoholics”: A Quick Q&A With The Points

"We're trying to have fun right now and not make it too serious," Travis "Cobruhhh" Jackson, the drummer of D.C.'s noisiest party punkers The Points said yesterday, discussing the pitfalls of long-distance rock 'n' roll — Jackson moved to Blacksburg, Va., not long ago, and his bandmate, guitarist and singer George "Geo" White, now lives [...]

Dethklok and Mastodon Touring 34 Cities

Not only is Dethklok getting its own video game, but Brendan Small's once-imaginary band has somehow managed to arrange a 7-week tour with Mastodon, the most popular metal act to come out of Atlanta and Metallica's current tour opener. Mastodon's Crack the Skye hit the streets in March of this year, and Dethklok's Dethalbum II [...]

Show Alert: Sunny Day Real Estate Reunion Stops in D.C.

Last month, mid-90s emo rockers Sunny Day Real Estate announced a reunion tour in support of their first two albums LP2 and Diary, both of which are being reissued by Sub Pop in September. (More on those special reissues at the band's new official site.) The good news for Midatlantic emo junkies is that the [...]

Crooked Beat’s Top Sellers For May

Crooked Beat sent along a list of the Adams Morgan stores top-ten sellers for May. I pass it along not so much for its tiny news value as merely a reminder. Maybe you're like me and totally slept on the new Camera Obscura album (it's....No. 1 at Crooked Beat). Or maybe you still do not [...]

Thoughts on CSN Demos:
Record review, streaming, and tour dates

Who knew that the best way to enshrine Crosby, Stills & Nash would be to remove the harmonies?
Out today, CSN Demos covers some of the group's more memorable early takes between 1968 and 1971, including rough cuts of "Almost Cut My Hair," "You Don't Have to Cry," "Déjà Vu," and "Chicago."
As outtake/demo discs go, the [...]