Tag Archives: new vinyl

Tim Larson and the Owner Operators: A New Deal

I just got my copy of A New Deal on vinyl–the new record by Tim Larson and the Owner Operators. This Chicago band has been toiling away in and out of the Windy City for quite some time now and the new vinyl is, quite frankly, a triumph.

A full review of the vinyl is coming, but for now let me just say that Larson and company have perfected something I like to call Economic Noir. It would not be unfair to compare the lyrics to the storytelling and world-weariness of Stan Ridgeway, but the music is in its own league altogether.

A New Deal is a combination of dark, brooding southern sounds (without sounding corn-fed or just off the Dukes of Hazzard farm) with some excellent swampy guitar work, plus more than a hint of Angelo Badalamenti. I am sure that’s not intentional, but it certainly is welcome. If you’ve ever seen the evil barroom scene in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, you’ve got a good idea of the vibe that comes off some of these tracks.

The album is a flat-out commentary on life in post-Bush America, with the 2008 housing crisis firmly in mind. But this record does not preach or climb up on a soapbox whatsoever. A lot of that sort of thing (from lesser artists) can be tiresome, but A New Deal writes from the trenches and sounds a lot more like looking for hope in the middle of the chaos rather than rolling over and waiting for the wolves.

I’ll save the full review of A New Deal for later, but here’s some of my favorite work from that album, live in Chicago. This stuff is HIGHLY recommended. The video doesn’t even do it justice, but consider it an apertif for the main course. Tim Larson and the Owner Operators play The Double Door in Chicago 8PM on Wednesday August 24, 2011.



Cleveland Ohio Record Stores: Music Saves

Music Saves, at 15801 Waterloo Road in Cleveland is a great place for new vinyl. I was also pleased to find a used remix album for Depeche Mode’s Policy of Truth (I’m a sucker for DM remixes ever since the Eno and Helmet mixes I heard back in 1993) and actually purchased some CDs (for play in the Dreadmobile) by Stereolab and Spiritualized. The used section–as I’ll describe in a moment, isn’t nearly as large as the new vinyl but I had some good finds regardless.

There is plenty to sift through at Music Saves–I spotted a new vinyl copy of God’s Money by Gang Gang Dance–something that would sound SPECTACULAR on a turntable. At the time of my visit, there was a generous vinyl sale bin–the NEW stuff, that is…very nice.

The staff is very friendly and happy to point out money-saving sale items. I brought my CD copy of a Stereolab album and was quickly steered to the sealed sale vinyl titles–but sadly that one was sold before I arrived. Yeah–this is a store that knows its customers aren’t made of money and doesn’t mind pointing out a bargain. My definition of cool.

Music Saves embodies my favorite kind of vinyl shopping experience when it comes to indie record stores specializing in new releases. They are big enough to carry all your current obsessions while being cozy and friendly and fun to shop in.

The CDs–obviously not my primary interest by any stretch–are diverse and I was happy to find plenty of old school favorites like Stereolab alongside The Arcade Fire, Dangermouse and plenty of other comparatively new kids on the block. True that the used vinyl selection is dwarfed by new titles–but I suspect that the presence of an equally cool record store just half a block a way (which specializes in awesome used titles) could have something to do with that. But Music Saves has carved out a GREAT niche with the new stuff.

Music saves has been celebrating its six year anniversary at the time of this post–I hope they go a LOT longer. This is a shop that deserves to succeed. I will DEFINITELY be coming back here.

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