Dum Dum Girls

Through the influence of a good write up in the Washington Post we went to check out these LA ladies at DC9 a few weeks back. They were opening for a group never heard of and not worth naming for this blog. Dum Dum Girls played a short, tight set. Maybe ten songs... they opened up with Rolling Stones cover "Play With Fire". A retro choice for a retro girl group with a modern goth drone wall of sound.

So why talk about the concert on a vinyl site you ask? It's because the full album was not available on iTunes so I picked it up on vinyl at the show for $15 bucks (probably the most I have ever spent on a vinyl record). A lot of the fun of this "vinyl thing" has been in seeking out unusual and lost discs at random record repositories and getting them DIRT CHEAP. Well, this is the first brand new full length record that I have purchased since the vinyl fascination began in earnest and it's solid.

The record was concocted from lead lady Dee Dee, with some minor assistance from Yeah Yeah Yeah's guitarist Nick Zinner and Crocodiles singer Brandon Welchez. The album is produced by Richard Gottehrer a veteran of 60's girl-pop, 80's new wave punk, and several recent stabs into the new indie world.

Listen to this album when you are in need of an antidote to your hip-shaking doldrums. Other than one slow burn ballad, the whole album shimmies like a be-sequined flapper.

Vagabonds

In the attempt of searching out new and wonderful tunes, we've made some missteps. Here are several that we gave a brief home to, but ultimately passed back into the record stores of DC.

No explanation needed. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

A Eulogy for Records in the Streets

Biking down to Petworth the other day we happened upon the wreckage of a record collection, strewn and smashed down 8th Street, NW, literally in the street.

Most of the records we did not recognize. They mostly seemed of the R & B, Funk, and Disco variety, with cheap looking generic paper sleeves promising a "Disco Hit" or something. No big names come to mind. A strange final resting place for a vinyl collection. Did they get thrown out in a rage? Were they a DJ's bread and butter? Did these platters get thrown out of a moving car or tossed up high in the sky via tornado? What exactly went wrong?

In homage to these outcast records, a eulogy to bad records, lost records, scratched records, and especially misunderstood records. May they serve a better purpose to someone at some future time. Though their dense grooves will likely not be needle warmed again, the music continues in vinyl press, in thrift shops, an on turntables around the world. Whether it be for 15¢ or 15$, spin, spin, spin.

Yazz Flute

What is it about buying crusty looking records for a dollar or less? Well, it isn't always about the actual record I can tell you that.

Example: Harry Belafonte - Live at Carnegie Hall. Double album purchased for $1 in downtown Silver Spring. The album itself is a total dud. Sure, the music is fine, and Belafonte does what he does with skill. It's just incredibly dated and goofy as hell. So why mention any of this? Well, in a lucky stumble of good fortune, tucked inside said double album was an added bonus. A pristine disc full of the most amazing jazz flute ever! The disc: Herbie Mann - Live at the Whiskey a Go-Go. circa 1969

"Mr. Burgundy, we would be honored if you play some yazz flute for us tonight."

Mann was among the first jazz musicians to specialize on the flute and was perhaps jazz music's preeminent flautist during the 60's. He's accompanied by a crew of pros and the record gives them all a chance to show off their chops. It swings, it really swings. The connection to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is only an added, albeit hilarious bonus.