10 Things We Learned From John Peel's Online Record Collection

Today is the day that the English Arts Council's The Space website began putting the historically epic record collection of late BBC DJ John Peel online for everyone to peruse. Slowly doled out from now until October, they will be putting up the first 100 records he'd filed under each letter of his alphabetical collection, with scanned album artwork, Peel's personal file cards, and links to streaming music where available. Given that the entire collection includes over 25,000 vinyl LPs, 40,000 singles, and thousands of (presumably cracked-to-shit) CD jewel cases, this truncated taste is understandable. But even with only "A" available, and lots of supplementary goodies already embedded, we have already killed a frightening amount of time on it this morning and afternoon. Some initial impressions...
- This project is being carried out with the utmost integrity and respect.

From the heartfelt video intro by Peel's widow Shelia Ravencroft to the web design emulating the shelf-browsing experience of every socially awkward record nerd at every party ever to the clickable front and back cover materials for each featured entry, every detail of this archiving is really top notch.

- The scope of this collection is pretty mind-boggling. (No doi.)

100 records into the "A" section only gets us to Adam Ant!

- The first 100 records of each letter limit is going to be kind of a bummer throughout the length of this project.

100 records into "A," and seriously, we're only at Adam Ant. How will I ever find out which Monochrome Set records he had???? While we understand and appreciate the time and care taken in digitizing just a fraction of these materials, we are human, and we can't help hungering for more. Maybe just in text form?

- He was way more meticulously organized than you are.

iTunes does the majority of work alphabetizing and cross-referencing for most of you, but even those with vinyl collections outstripping the space available for them in a New York City apartment (you reach this limit within your first six months of record collecting, give or take) are probably not going to the trouble of hand-typing individual note cards to create a Dewey decimal for your discs, like Peel did. Alphabetical, sure. Cross referenced with a distinct catalog number? Bullshit. Prove it.

- An obsessive record collector's work is never done.

Abyssinians - Arise is misfiled after Acceleradeck - Narcotic Beats. This is maybe the thing nagging him most in the afterlife?

- He actually wasn't as much of a completist as you might have expected.

The only ABBA record he owned was Voulez-Vous? He didn't make it to The Visitors, probably the weirdest, most Jon Peel-appropriate record they ever made??? Huh.

- Eclecticism in taste is not a post-Internet phenomenon.

From straight-up, three-chord punk to disco to blues to world music to Middle Eastern-inspired acid folk, Peel's tastes were admirably varied in a time that was much more codified, much more Us. v. them. This will only become more apparent as more of the collection hits the web. (Grimes did not invent liking "everything.")

- The well-organized links to the Peel Sessions recordings available on Spotify might be the site's most valuable resource at this point.

All this spine browsing is fun, yeah, but Peel's finest legacy is still probably the radio sessions he produced for decades' worth of the best pop musicians in history. A lot of these have been released commercially (which is why they can be linked to streaming on Spotify), but a lot haven't. There are blogs out there perpetually trying to get a handle on this stuff (here's one), but nothing has come close to a categorical archive. The Space site doesn't provide one yet either, but their limited attempt is lot easier to navigate and investigate as it's set up than whatever a clumsy Spotify search for "Peel Sessions" will bring you. Which brings us to the next point...

- Spotify's got a long way to go.

An informal tally finds 44 of these first 100 records with available links to streaming sites (mainly Spotify). Given the obscurity of much of this stuff, it's fairly impressive, I guess. But it's also a handy reminder of how far the service has to go before it'll really be the one-stop repository for pop music that it's already starting to have the reputation as.

It also highlights what a flawed vessel for discovery Spotify itself can be. It's now only as good as the curiosity of its listener, or as good as another person's recommendation to them. There aren't enough, or sophisticated enough, means within the site itself at this point to truly guide listeners towards things they wouldn't know to search out. The authority given to a forgotten band by their place among Peel's record sleeves will probably spur more shot-in-the-dark listens than even a playlist sent by a close pal? (Taking matters into their own hands, the Peel Archive uploaded Mike Absalom's bizarre 1969 folk album Save the Last Gherkin for Me! to SoundCloud themselves, and will hopefully be doing more of this going forward.)

(Also, and this is something that a premium account would alleviate, I know, but my morning listen to the 2002 Peel Session by glitchy-yet-organic Icelandic electronic band Múm was interrupted with an insanely annoying ad for Jason Mraz. So, their algorithm could be better targeted, to say the least.)

- Looking through a curated physical collection, even as a digital representation, is more fun and rewarding than scrolling down a list of digital files.

For now, and maybe forever.

Did you know that?

Vinile Closing Season

LAST date, Vinyl closing season!

WOMEN'S TRIBUTE - 7 € MAN before 23:30

Guests from Nano rec

Spiller, Scuola Furano and DJ Color

DO NOT MISS IT!
dress code - shorts & flip flops
''The track will be your beach''


3488181494 | info@slumb.it

Ups and Downs

Obey The Brave release their debut EP "Ups and Downs" on May 22nd!
Preorder your LP or Boundle (7 Inch & T-Shirt) on Good Fight Entertainment

AirVinyl

AirVinyl From Within was created Air Studios, London's finest recording studio complex to

recreate the ambience, warmth and experience of vinyl recordings, and transforming your MP3

digital music collection into your record collection, Bringing back to the warmth of analogue harmonics.

Choose your records from any of the crate where your collection is kept and play single tracks or albums on the authentic teak and brushed steel AirVinyl record deck. If you want to compile your favorite songs together into one playlist, you can create a mixtape and play it in the Air cassette deck.

Any playlists you have stored on the iPad will be accessible as Mixtapes too.

The audio output from AirVinyl has-been enhanced by the award winning audio engineers at Air Studios to recreate the ambience sound originally Intended by the artist. Use AirPlay to wirelessly connect to your hifi or entertainment center and your iPad Becomes a component audio quality.

Use the free AirStreem Mac app to stream your Entire iTunes Music Library from your Mac to your iPhone.

FEATURES

Enhanced, studio engineered audio output

Vinyl Record Player

Cassette Deck with Mixtapes

AirPlay compatibility

Stylish Retro Interface

Alternative skins (coming soon)

AirStreem - look for it in the Mac App Store

More info: www.airvinyl.com

What's New in Version 1.5

- AirStreem is now available!

- minor bug fixes

Skrillex: Bangarang EP, Voltage LP

How the fuck does he make those SKREEWERPPZZZZBLAAW noises? GarageBand? America's dubstep don steps away from the Dark Side on this fizzy, party-ready single. (It will still probably scare your parents, though.)
Don't believe the hype: Skrillex didn't set out to wrestle dubstep from its brainy dub-reggae roots and warp it into an aggro dance-metal hybrid that online haters call "brostep." "I thought I'd play the Echo in L.A. once a month for 150 people," says Sonny Moore, 23, who quit fronting screamo band From First to Last to focus on beatmaking. Instead, Moore has played to thousands almost daily since dropping his first LP, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, last year on Big Beat and his buddy Deadmau5's label.

But he's not surprised by the rapid ascent of dubstep in the United States. "It's so fun," he says. "It just lets so many people in and there's nothing about it that seems shoved down anybody's throats. You can connect with it culturally because it brings so many different types of people together, from ravers to hip-hop people to whatever people like to dance." He's bracing himself for what will happen when the music fully crosses over in the mainstream, though. "There will come a time when it will be watered down and sensationalized like everything else. That's not a bad thing, every type of music goes through that. But right now, for how big it is, if you turn on Kiss FM, there's no real dustup on the radio right now."

Keeping up with the dubstep world has become overwhelming these days with millions of Djs trying to make a name for themselves and of course the massive amount of  electronic adaptation attempts by traditional artists and established stars. However, if there is only one DJ that you keep up with in 2012 than it might as well be Skrillex.

Bangarang EP

The album takes a sharp turn into experimentation starting on "Bangarang" and really takes off into the unknown after that. "Bangarang" is exactly what the dubstep world asked for. A mainstream radio hit that is accessible to the masses and still unique and intriguing enough to appeal to the die-hard, more technical fans of Skrillex and electronic music in general. This track also introduces us to some samples of Sirah, an up and coming female rap/pop talent from Los Angeles. Sirah truly shines on "Kyoto" where she is able to lay down some full bars and present her ambitious delivery style. 

My favorite song from the EP, and by far the most experimental, is "Breakn' a Sweat" featuring the surviving members of The Doors, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. The track is part of a project knows as Re: Generation.

I also wanted to allude to the upcoming LP Voltage. It was talked about heavily a few months ago but it appears to have lost some steam recently. I wonder if Voltage sort of morphed and dwarfed its way in being Bangarang. Perhaps the rumors of A-list collaborations like Pretty Lights and Nero are holding up the creative process. Maybe he is just taking his time in order to make sure his first full length cut is a fuckin banger! Or the more likely chance that Hollywood politics are slowing down the release of the records just to figure out more ways to make money off the deal. 

Either way I'll be on the look out!

J Dilla's Vinyl

If the news is confirmed by official sources would be as sensational as outrageous: According to The Detroit News website, the record store of the American metropolis would UHF for sale as used about 8000 LPs belonged to J Dilla, the great producer and rapper who has revolutionized the hip-hop before he died prematurely six years ago. According to the store owner Jeff Bubeck, vinyls coming from an abandoned warehouse in the suburb of Clinton Township, where they were, according to Bubeck, including cassette tapes labeled "Jaydee Beats", a nickname used by Dilla, as well as correspondence addressed James Yancey, anagrafe name of the musician struck down by lupus.


Let's go back to say it would be sensational news if confirmed, because the collectors of Dilla is documented, but also scandalous because it is not clear how did the transition between this abandoned warehouse and a shop that sells used records, and given the uniqueness of the character which they belonged would have been more commendable them available to the public without take money. To be sure, Bubeck said he had sought contact with the mother of Dilla, but every attempt went in vain. After this news, should have no problems.

Record Store Day 21.04.2012 @DiscoFrisco

Rare vinyl covers ever seen and a great desire not to let the past disappear. For the fifth year running back on "Record Store Day", the day that celebrates independent record stores. The music festival "to touch". As per tradition, the fans around the world can go to stores participating in the initiative and find records in a limited edition published for the occasion.

DJs in Frisco Disco, were engaged to play the turntable.

Rejoicing with songs like "Love Me Right" by LaVerne Baker.

Because, as Nick Hornby, High Fidelity with which he helped to create the music of independent shops: "The record stores do not save lives, but they can make it better."

The Record Store Day was born in the U.S., has been conquered England and became a cult event in Italy.

"Our country is the seventh in the world for sales of vinyl," he told Vinyl is Back, Daniel Salvaggio, head of external relations of the Federation of Italian music industry. "The traditional music market continues to suffer from a constant slowdown for several years - he added - but is growing well on digital."

Begins In

RSD Guide App


The RSD guide is Record Store Day to go! 
A hand-held extension of the Record Store Day website, this app uses GPS to tell you which RSD-registered stores you’re nearest to, and lets you find others via State and ZipCode lookup (very handy for travelling and plan-making). The RSD Guide App also keeps you up to date with all the Store Events, News, Promotions and Contests populating the Record Store Day website, lets you follow along with the RSD Twitter and Facebook feeds, and serves as a mobile product guide for the exclusive releases on Record Store Day and Back to Black Friday (complete with descriptions and pictures).

Record Exhibition

Venice, Sunday 15 have raduanti for the Exhibition of disk, 50 exhibitors from all over Italy. A unique opportunity to find special rarities record companies, but also to rediscover the classics, organized by organized by the Original Idea! Events and Services snc in collaboration with Punto Radio Cascina.

When, in the early 80s, was launched to support the new laser scanning were not many to trust him, but took only a few years to ensure that the CD sales surpassed the old vinyl, so that it ended with the disappear almost completely from the market, while the record stores svendevano inventories and reorganized to accommodate the new boxes. In fact, the vinyl is never completely disappeared and you are nostalgic for the old soon added new ranks of young fans, who at first took to the exhibitions market in search of old productions and have worked as hard core for a significant recovery in production.

Fifty exhibition stands and a room dedicated to Hi Fi with demo tracks and guided by the guru of high fidelity Pierre Bolduc, for a total of about eighty thousand records: "Among the exposed vinyl also the first release of the original value of the Velvet Underground five thousand euros "explain the designers of the event Zarone Lorenzo and Paolo Conte from the pages of Corriere del Mezzogiorno" the stars of the original print of Mario Schifano value of three thousand euros, the orange vinyl of The Wall by Pink Floyd and evaluated two thousand euro the first work of Paolo Conte's '72 priced at 1500 euros which is one of the rarest items of the exhibition. "

I have taken advantage of this market to try this, normally I do not find that vinyl in shops, from rock 'n' roll to punk '70s. Next time we see here.

Love ya!

Laser Vinyl Player

Today, flipping through the newspaper I read an interesting article:
"Laser Vinyl Player".


This article is said to be dedicated to fans of vinyl records and all those that are related to the peculiarities of vinyl, but I honestly who really appreciates the charm of vinyl, I do not think it's a great invention.
In my opinion there is nothing more fascinating to see with own eyes the vinyl spinning on the turntable.
So why buy a Laser Vinyl Player?
these days the vinyl is back in vogue, (often, unfortunately, as a symbol of the vintage) hipsters, besiege record stores, great improvising music experts.
Many people collect records just because "it's cool."
these people could buy the ELP - Laser Vinyl Player, because they just need a player.

We talk about the features of this object. say that you can listen to the damaged discs as if they were new, but I'm not convinced!
CD players do not do it and I think that the 2 objects are similar.
How do I scratch?
Obviously with the Laser Vinyl Player, this is impossible because the disk is inside a box, so you can not even see.
on the contrary with the classic turntables you can do everything, and maintenance of this is less expensive than laser, because if you do not feel well is not a problem of stylus, then € 20.00 will not be enough to fix it.

So, you still have questions?

Happy Easter †

LP of the day is "†".
†, known as Cross Alternatively, is the debut album of the French electro houseduo Justice, released on June 11, 2007. It was certified gold in the UK on December 9, 2011, for shipments of 100,000 copies.

Several songs were released as singles before the album's release. "Waters of Nazareth" was the first single released by the group in 2005 and also featured "Let There Be Light" as its B-side. "D.A.N.C.E." was the second single from the album and released on April 23, 2007. The single also featured the song "Phantom", which was also released on the Ed Rec Vol. 2 compilation album prior to the release of the album. The song "D.A.N.C.E." is about and dedicated to Michael Jackson.

The album was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album ultimately losing to The Chemical Brothers, Best Dance Recording ("D.A.N.C.E."), and Best Video ("D.A.N.C.E") for the 50th Grammy Awards. They were also nominated for 6 PLUG Independent Music Awards including "Album of The Year". The album was also nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, eventually losing out to The Reminder by Feist. It was ranked at No. 2 by Planet Sound in their Best Albums of 2007 list. Online music magazine Pitchfork placed † at number 107 on their list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.

Happy Easter guys!

Dimitri From Paris

Here's some classic Bizniz from the many monikered Dimitri. Arriving on thescene as France awoke from slumber ITS musicals in the mid nineties andcasting the net wide in the search for influences, Dimitri championed thecosmopolitan jet setting sound. Although a House DJ at heart, Dimitri Took Hisearly inspiration from the sounds of 50s jazz, Exotica and Film Scores, creatingin 'Sacrebleu!' (Mixmag's Album of the Year in 96) a set of sumptuousdowntempo muzak, lush and layered yet examination at the time playful and fullof character. However, if one Were to peer through the fug Gauloises, Thatsuave exterior was inside a house sipping the head hard punch That theexamination and Harvey Idjuts Were serving up. This 12 "on Yellow Productions(cultured for a consistent house label run by the co consistently questionableBob Sinclair) is an absolute gift for anyone with even a passing interest inHaving a good time.

The track first appeared on the Sacrebleu! LP somewhat sophisticated fashion.Intended as a 'tribute to the late Larry Levan and the great Lalo Shiffrin (sic)',Dimitri Serves up house track Incorporating the otherworldly melodies of LaloSchifrin not only complete with harpsichord, jazz drums and bass, cinematichorns but Also a bump house and kick some far out on the dancefloorpsychedelia Levan. If the LP version restrained blackberries fell into the LaloSchifrin camp, geared for home listening and lounge bars, perfect for an eveninginside Stella Artois advert, then the 'Old School Flava' mix was Larry's revenge.Uptempo, proto house drums, hard dub basslines, lazers and the examination far out synths as the LP version. If you're a fan of the excellent Night Dubbin'compilation on BBE then this one's for you.

If you like what you hear then I strongly recommend finding a copy of this vinyl asthe Crue-L Grand Orchestra and Idjut Boys Also mixes are superb.

Record Stalls

A few days ago I was watching some vinyl in the stall and I found this LP.

Dropkick Murphys - The Gang's All Here

"The Gang's All Here" was the second album by the Dropkick Murphys in 1999 by Hellcat Records. It was the first album made with Al Barr, former singer of The Bruisers who replaced Mike McColgan who had decided to leave the group. The songs and the album as a whole are very strong, and the military theme is very evident. Theband also made ​​a video for the single "10 Years Of Service".


Good record!