Black Friday Record Store Day 2017: My 5 Picks
Next Friday, the 24th November, is Black Friday and that can only mean one thing. "People smashing each other's faces in over not-quite-so-generously-discounted-as-you-think televisions?" I hear you say. Well ok, two things then. Maniacs fighting over the last Dyson with £10 off in John Lewis AND some exclusive vinyl and cassette tape releases. With a view to actually being prepared for once I thought I'd trawl through the release list and pick out some of my favourites and 'must haves'. I'm not into any of the novelty trash releases (read cynical cash grabs) so there'll be none of that here. Lets get on with it then.
1. The Black Lips - This Sick Beat
A short EP from garage rockers The Black Lips containing two new songs and two new mixes of songs from their latest album 'Satan's Graffiti or God's Art?'. Should be worth a punt if it's not too expensive.
2. The Kills - Black Rooster EP
If you haven't heard of The Kills do yourself a favour and go and listen to some of their music right now. The 2003 debut Keep on Your Mean Side is a great starting point. There's just something about those riffs and those vocals! The Black Rooster EP is where it all started for the duo who play minimalist but hard hitting alternative rock music. An absolute must have in my opinion and I'll be disappointed if I can't get hold of this one.
3. Poncier - Poncier (cassette)
Earlier this year one of the holy grails of record collecting, the soundtrack from the film SIngles. was finally re-pressed. The film was set during the early 90s Seattle grunge scene so the soundtrack features some of the finest artists from that period. During filming, Soundgarden's Chris Cornell (RIP) borrowed a dummy prop of the character Cliff Poncier's demo tape and took it upon himself to write and record songs based on the fake song titles from said tape. The release will be available on both vinyl and cassette but I'd suggest the cassette version is the one to get. Again, I'll be mightily disappointed if I miss out on this.
4. Latyrx - The Album
A 20th Anniversary release of a classic debut album from the golden era of hip-hop. This was produced by DJ Shadow so would suit anyone who likes his particular brand of beats and is a must have for fans of classic hip-hop. The package will come as a 2 LP gatefold on swirled red/white and blue/white vinyl for those interested in that kinda thing. I'll be grabbing this for sure.
5. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
A 25th Anniversary release of the classic album by Neil Young. If the quality of the Decade release from RSD 2017 is anything to go by then this should be a thing of beauty. One thing to note is that there will be a more general release of this later on so don't worry if you miss out.
These are just the releases that piqued my interest but there are around 150 releases announced so if none of the above float your boat there are plenty of alternatives on offer.
Let me know your own picks in the comments!!!
Peace.
