Egg Hunt: 2 Songs (1986)

Day 7 of the #mayvinylchallenge is, appropriately, a celebration of the 7″ – that glorious short format that nevertheless I don’t collect much of. Most of what I have comes from the Dischord label, which for decades has been the home of some of the best independent heavy music ever crated, from the blistering hardcore of Minor Threat to the post hardcore experimentation of Fugazi to the rebellious spirit of the Evens, the Warmers, and most recently Coriky. I picked those examples for a reason – they all feature Dischord founder and punk hero Ian MacKaye. For today’s entry I wanted to focus on a lesser known release from him and the label: the brief but infinitely punchy Egg Hunt and their 2 Songs 7″.

ChrisMay 7, 2021May 7, 20211 Comment

Vinyl

Archie Shepp: Four For Trane (1964)

Much as I enjoy a good cover song, I don’t own a lot of cover albums. Usually it’s a little too much of a good thing, but Day 6 of the #mayvinylchallenge demanded either a cover or a sample, so I dug around until I realized that from a covers perspective jazz really fits the bill: artists are constantly covering each other’s material, re-interpreting, extending and improvising off of melodies and chordal/modal progressions. All of which led me to the work of Archie Shepp, whose debut as a solo leader (he had a few co-lead records with Bill Dixon and Lars Gullin) for Impulse! was his homage to the saxophone king, Four For Trane.

ChrisMay 6, 2021Leave a comment

Vinyl

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

Day 5 of the #mayvinylchallenge had me twisted. Best side or solo project. What does that even mean? I was looking at the entries and got even more confused: do you count solo work after the original band broke up? What if the side project becomes the main project? I had a few things in the air, from Ty Segall’s Sabbath rooted Fuzz project to the one-off between Ginger Baker and Fela Kuti. But the minute I saw The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill sitting there on my shelf there wasn’t a second of hesitancy. This was my favorite album of 1998, and a sterling example of someone stepping out from the shadow of a popular outfit to blow the doors off the music world. Whatever you think of Lauryn Hill how, this album is incredible from start to finish.

ChrisMay 5, 2021Leave a comment

Vinyl

Hawkwind: Hall of the Mountain Grill: (1974)

It’s May 4th, which means today’s #mayvinylchallenge is space themed. And though my heart forever belongs to the Mothership Connection, I thought I’d turn to something a little more progressive for my album pick. And so we come to Hawkwind, and Hall of the Mountain Grill from 1974. What do you do after you release one of the greatest live albums of all time in Space Ritual? Well, you trim back a bit on the effects and weirdness (but really, not that much) since Robert Calvert is gone, but trimming still makes for a really tight set of tunes that run the gamut of spych, prog, and good old fashioned rock and roll.

ChrisMay 4, 2021Leave a comment

Vinyl

Megaton Leviathan: Mage (2018)

Day 3 of the #mayvinylchallenge is Favorite Color or Effect, but truth be told I really prefer black vinyl. Initially there was an attractiveness to colored, splattered, or marbled vinyl but over time the glee of obtaining a limited edition variant lost its appeal. The beauty of a clean, silly black vinyl however, did not. That being said, there is a joy to be had when album art and vinyl combine and coordinate for a beautiful presentation. I presented a few option on my Instagram page, but for purposes of today’s entry we’re going with the synth-heavy doom of Megaton Leviathan and their third release, Mage.

ChrisMay 3, 2021Leave a comment

Vinyl

75 Dollar Bill: I Was Real (2019)

Day 2 of the #mayvinylchallenge is Dynamic Duos, and looking over my options there was never really an option. Much love to Suicide and Big Business and Simon and Garfunkel and my own beloved Darkthrone, but there is something magical that happens whenever I put on I Was Real, the 2019 release from 75 Dollar Bill. It’s one of a handful of albums I get completely lost in, an album where I feel like I’m inside the physical space of the music being created.

ChrisMay 2, 2021May 2, 2021Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Month: May 2021

Egg Hunt: 2 Songs (1986)

Archie Shepp: Four For Trane (1964)

Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

Hawkwind: Hall of the Mountain Grill: (1974)

Megaton Leviathan: Mage (2018)

75 Dollar Bill: I Was Real (2019)