CATURDAY XLI | Record Store Day!!

Happy Caturday, IT'S RECORD STORE DAY!!

One of the very best days of the year! 

I'm jumping for joy!

So here is a whole slew of cats and vinyl TOGETHER!

Oh happy day!

HEAR HERE: 27 Club | Janis Joplin

 Lately I've been feeling the sass and soul of this lady more than usual. Maybe it's the sunshine and free feeling that comes with spring and the triumph over another winter. 

"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose."

Richard Goldstein wrote for the May 1968 issue of Vogue magazine that Joplin was "the most staggering leading woman in rock... she slinks like tar, scowls like war... clutching the knees of a final stanza, begging it not to leave... Janis Joplin can sing the chic off any listener."

I couldn't choose which album to share, so I consulted Heather, my closest Janis expert, who didn't hesitate to request this one, "I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again."

If you've placed an order from my shop in the last six months, there's a good chance your package came adorned with these Janis Joplin stamps, along with Jimi Hendrix stamps, another member of the 27 Club.

HEAR HERE: Blondie

 Tomorrow is the first day of spring and all I wanna do is listen to Blondie.

HEAR HERE: The 27 Club | Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana is another major member of the 27 Club. His influence on rock and alternative music was huge and his life has had a profound impact on many people over the last twenty-five years. He suffered greatly and was open and honest about things other celebrities usually aren't. Being 27 and going through this list has already been really hard as I mourn the loss of such legendary musicians and feel challenged to accomplish more, but this one hits home more than the others, so I'm just gonna trail off and leave it at that.

Listen to Nevermind, Nirvana's second and most successful album.

HEAR HERE: The 27 Club | Robert Johnson

For those of you who aren't aware, so many brilliant musicians throughout modern music have died tragic deaths at the age of  27 that journalists and music historians have started referring to the group as the 27 Club. Some say it's an evil conspiracy but for most it's a heartbreaking coincidence and reminder of the result of the hard life many popular musicians face at that time in their lives. Click here for a brief history of the Club from Rolling Stone.

Either way, being 27 and scrolling through the list has really put the 27 Club into a different perspective. These artists poured their hearts and souls into creating music that is still regarded as legendary decades later, with only 27 years of life and talent to draw from. 

Robert Johnson was one of the first, but wasn't widely recognized until decades after his death. His legend is that he sold his soul to the devil for amazing finger-picking skillz. His guitar playing and vocal style has influenced some of the most influential guitarists and vocalists of the twentieth century, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Robert Plant.
This album, King of the Delta Blues Singers, was released more than twenty years after his death and brought his music to a broader audience and unleashed his influence.

HEAR HERE: Led Zeppelin | Houses of the Holy

In honor of my amazing brother moving home this week, I'm sharing Houses of the Holy, because I'm pretty sure if he had to pick a favorite Zeppelin album, that's what it'd be. 

 

HEAR HERE: Ha Ha Tonka

Tonight I leave for a road trip that will take me down to Nashville and back with my very best lady. Ha Ha Tonka is one of our necessities for road trips. We first saw these guys at Founders in 2010 and have been following them ever since, thoroughly enjoying every album they've put out.

HEAR HERE: Merry Christmas, Darling

It's Christmas Eve, but for a lot of us it's been hard to get into the Christmas spirit. My family is scattered and it feels like I haven't done anything but work for the past month, but I finally found a little bit of cozy holiday feelings this morning as I put this playlist together. There are a few familiar songs, but a bunch of rare old blues originals to remind you there was a world before Black Friday and Auto-Tune ruined everything and it will make you feel things again.

LOCAL: Nathan Kalish at Elk

Don't forget! My friend Nathan Kalish is playing at Elk Brewing this Saturday, December 20 at 10 pm. Enjoy this video while you wait.

HEAR HERE: Man Man

Man Man is one of my favorite bands. They're artists from Philadelphia who make wonderfully strange, experimental doo wop music and sometimes cover Groucho Marx songs. I listen to them often, but especially when I'm feeling out of place or fidgety, and they always make me feel right back at home in my own skin. Some of their songs sounds like they're just blowing off steam, howling and playing anything but musical notes on their instruments - and that may be what they're doing - but they also play beautiful haunting melodies with weird but honest lyrics that are much more relatable than at first you'd think. This playlist has some of my favorite songs from each of their albums.

(You'll need Spotify to listen to the playlist. It's worth it, really. Otherwise maybe try their label's YouTube page.)

HEAR HERE: Nathan Kalish

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the gathering of all of my long-lost friends. They come home from around the country and the world, and we gather together, and my heart explodes. My friend Nathan Kalish is one of those friends. He's been on tour with his band The Lastcallers since April and I can't wait to catch a show or two and share some drinks.  

Come see Nathan Kalish and the Lastcallers in my neighborhood at Elk Brewing on December 20.

HEAR HERE: Yeah Yeah Yeahs | It's Blitz!

This week is sure to be a crazy one, now that I'm back working part-time in retail, and I will be relying on this album to keep me going. Karen O has always been a huge inspiration to me as an immensely creative, independent, and powerful force, and the music she and her band puts out is always strong, energetic, and unique.

I remember this album came out as the mainstream electronic music movement that I loathe was exploding, and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's take on it all was so reassuring, showing me that artists could still make good dance music without removing the rock and the soul.

(You'll need Spotify to use the player. It's ok, it's worth it. Otherwise, click here to go to the band's website for some videos.) 

HEAR HERE: Lamp Light Music Festival 2014

Volunteering at Lamp Light Music Festival over the weekend was so wonderful. I reconnected with some friends and met a lot of new ones, and we all got to experience a LOT of really great music. We were a part of a close-knit community for three days and it felt a lot like summer camp for grown ups. It was exhausting in the good way.

I saw some familiar bands I love but I there were a bunch of really great bands and artists that I had never seen before, liiiiiiike......

Ghost Heart: This band seemed like a straight-forward rock band at first but they really had their own style. I especially enjoyed the percussion and vocals. 

Divino Nino: These babes from Chicago put on such a great show, I bought the record on the spot. This song is a nice mellow one, but their live show was energetic and had us all hooked.

Max Lockwood and some very talented friends played a great folk set with songs from his new album Outrider. 

Caleb Groh came from Nashville to show off his songwriting skills and made time to make friends with just about everyone.

Isaac Karns is an artist from Cincinnatti who blew us away with his lyrics, vocals, and dance moves and was accompanied by a gorgeous live projector show.

There were over 40 different artists and bands at Lamp Light this year, so this is just a sampling of what we were treated to.  I'm so proud of the folks that put this on and thankful for the community in Grand rapids that supports it. Another successful year!!!

HEAR HERE: Cat Power | The Greatest

The cold is moving in and it's time for us to slow our lives down. Make the best of it with the right music. Cat Power's The Greatest is all I need for the first week of November.

I would never rush the cold weather, but I am always relieved when I realize I've made it through the Halloween season, especially the last week of October. I spend that week working 10-14 hour days painting and sewing and packaging and shipping all of the last minute orders and stressing like crazy.

So THIS week is my week for recuperating. It really isn't all that relaxing as I have a lot of work to do catching up with everything I neglected last week, but I'm making time to put the house back together, catch up on laundry, cook and bake, and read before bed.

It's easy to get back to my happy place with this lady and this album. Cat Power is one of my very very favorites, and this album takes me right to my quiet happy place. She collaborated with The Memphis Rhythm Band for a smooth soul sound because they know it better than most.

(If you can't see the player, click here to find it on Spotify, or here for iTunes.)

HEAR HERE: Halloween Mix

Look how cool my brother and I were when we were miniatures and my dad got us ready for Halloween in Texas in 1990! I think I chose the weird clown costume because of the sparkly wig, but Andrew's cowboy costume is pretty great. That mustache definitely foreshadowed great things to come...

Now listen to this amazing Halloween-themed playlist to fully understand how cool I was when I was a teenager. I think I made this one when I was 17 or 18. I like that I still like most of the music I listened to when I was younger. 

Classics never die.

Kinda like zombies!

(If you can't see the player click here to listen on Spotify. I don't have this playlist saved publicly anywhere else, so you should probably get Spotify. It's cool because the artists get paid. You could also come over and we can enjoy it together.)

HEAR HERE: Tom Petty | Wildflowers

I love Tom Petty. I really really love him. I mean, I love his music; I don't know him personally, but he does seem like a pretty cool guy. He treats his fans well and fights for some good causes and he's friends with a hell of a lot of rock stars - good rock stars, like Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne - so he must be pretty alright to get along with.

Wildflowers is one of my favorite albums, with good songs like the title track and Honey Bee and Don't Fade On Me. My dad and I listened to it on our trip to Manistee a couple weeks ago. It has some woods-themed songs so it seemed appropriate, I guess, and I'm still feeling those vibes this week.

(If you don't have Spotify or can't see the player, click here to listen on his website or here for his SoundCloud.)

HEAR HERE: White Buffalo

White Buffalo makes the best kind of music. His voice, his style, his lyrics... this is what I like to hear. He's kind of like a musical cowboy Paul Bunyan. 

Now tell me, what could possibly be better than that?