Archive for the ‘New Releases’ Category

Scott Key – “This Forest and the Sea” | Lion Productions | 180-G LP

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

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Scott Key - This Forest and the Sea
LION116 (LP)
ORDER NOW!

Out now on Lion Productions, Scott Key’s This Forest and the Sea, an excellent 1976 private press acoustic album, self-recorded at various places in Colorado. From start to finish, this album is filled with beautiful finger style acoustic guitar, plus some atonal bottleneck slide, string scrapes and drones (at times, very Ry Cooder / Paris, Texas about six years before that soundtrack existed). Although almost completely instrumental, what lyrics there are tend towards the dark and the satiric. The obvious points of comparison are John Fahey and Leo Kottke, although Scott Key certainly has his own presence and style, differences in tone and color and attack, which he attributes to his background in rock bands.

Overall, there is a brooding, loner folk/psych feel, most evident on the phenomenal, effects-heavy, almost 11-minute long title track, ‘This Forest and the Sea.’ “I was coming to terms with what it mean to exist… and saw the world in pure black and white—there was no room for grey,” Key said. “I saw an American Culture devoid of any understanding of its place in the universe, how we learn nothing save what we see on television, how our existence is tainted by intellectual laziness, and how our gift of life is defiled by the taking of it.” This deluxe 180-gram vinyl LP edition of This Forest and the Sea comes with an insert which sports engaging, funny, and insightful notes by Key, photos, plus the text to poem that inspired the title track; as a nod to the forest. A very rare album that seems to have flown under almost everyone’s radar—although thankfully not Doug McGowan’s (Yoga Records), who sent this our way. One record collector said to us, and we now say to you: “Have a listen because this rates up there with classics by Bob Desper, Perry Leopold, Robbie Basho, and Phil Yost, with dark moods similar to John Fahey and Nick Drake.”

>> Limited edition pressing of 500!!!

To stream a taste of Scott Key’s This Forest and the Sea, and to order a copy visit LightInTheAttic.net!

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Posted in Distro, Lion Productions, New Releases | Comments Off

Digable Planets – “Blowout Comb” (2xLP) OUT NOW!

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
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Digable Planets: Blowout Comb
MCR 906 (2x LP)
Available: May 21, 2013
ORDER NOW!

Our imprint, Modern Classics Recordings, is finally set to reissue Blowout Comb, the 1994 second album by cult, Brooklyn-based hip hop trio Digable Planets. The album is named for the combs used to maintain an Afro hairstyle, and that’s significant. The group’s Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler said it summed up what they wanted to do with it: “It means the utilization of the natural, a natural style,” he has said.

Like with their 1993’s debut Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), ‘utilizing the natural’ meant creating hip hop that blended jazz with the formidable rap skills of the aforementioned Butterfly, Craig ‘Doodlebug’ Irving and Mary Ann ‘Ladybug Mecca’ Vieira. Unlike that debut, it meant broadening to include guests such as Gang Starr’s Guru, Jeru the Damaja, and Jazzy Joyce.

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Following the gold-selling commercial success of their debut, they here set out to prove their artistic prowess. Blowout Comb is intelligent, alternative hip hop that sounded like party music. Its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary and politics – and its original inner sleeve was modeled on the newspaper of the Black Panther movement.

Its instrumentation includes sax, vibraphone and flute. Its samples – gathered from global cratedigging trips while touring the first album around the world – included Grant Green, Eddie Harris, Shuggie Otis and jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers (whose “We Live in Brooklyn, Baby” became “Borough Check” here). And yet at the same time its beats are infectious and its spirit undeniable.

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This is an album firmly rooted in Brooklyn. “Growing up hearing and cherishing this album, it created a textured soundscape of a mythical world of rhymes, jazz, breakbeats, culture, art and urban ambiance,” says DJ and fan Mick Boogie in the liner notes. “When I moved to Brooklyn years later, I found that the world I imagined while listening to this classic LP actually really existed…”

Though Digable Planets have reunited on occasion since – and though their influence endures in every top-shelf rap act with a jazzy sensibility – the trio parted ways after Blowout Comb, citing that old favorite “creative differences.” Sometimes, the most volatile combinations create the best art.

>> Limited edition first pressing will have an embossed cover and 18″×24″ fold-out poster

>> Liner notes by Larry Mizell Jr.

>> Special white wax vinyl will ONLY be available to the FIRST 150 ONLINE ORDERS!!!

Order your copy of Digable Planets’ Blowout Comb from LightInTheAttic.net!

Posted in digable planets, Modern Classics Recordings, New Releases | 2 Comments »

Steve Gunn – “Time Off” (CD | LP ) PRE-ORDER

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

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Steve Gunn Time Off
POB-08 (CD | LP )
Available: June 18th
PRE-ORDER NOW!

Time Off is the newest album from New York-based guitarist and songwriter Steve Gunn. The album, out June 18th on Paradise of Bachelors, imagines the fugitive moments afforded us during time off, out, and away as occasions for dilatory investigations into our immediate environments and interiors. Time Off showcases the virtuosic guitarist and songwriter’s oblique character sketches and story-songs, some of which, like “Lurker” and “Street Keeper,” portray specific denizens of his Brooklyn neighborhood. “Old Strange” celebrates Jack Rose, a dear and departed friend and muse.

Those contemplative studies frame Gunn’s most affecting, accessible and articulate work of pure songcraft to date. His definitive statement as a songwriter, Time Off represents the culmination of nearly fifteen years of stylistic experimentation as a solo artist, a member of GHQ and the Gunn-Truscinski Duo, and more recently, as a guitarist in fellow Philadelphia-bred troubadour Kurt Vile’s touring band the Violators.

In this latest creation from Gunn, his guitar work masterfully deploys the discursive, deconstructed blues style, at once transcendent and methodical, that has become his signature. Close listening reveals the influence of Delta and Piedmont country blues, ecstatic free jazz, and psych, as well as Gnawa and Carnatic music, on the continually unfolding compositions. The fresh emphasis on narrative, characters in counterpoint, and those heavy-duty vocals likewise recall the finest work of Steve’s friend and sometime touring partner, Michael Chapman.

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Building on his established penchant for charting musical travelogues that ramble through city and wilderness alike, these dispatches about home are not merely descriptive but corporeal. Gunn’s evocative writing and ductile instrumental phrasing, buttressed by the band’s intuitive playing, carries the listener along bodily for the “Trailways Ramble.” It’s a real collection of foot-tappers and head-nodders, perfect for summer sessions.

The album opens with the sublime, meditative “Water Wheel”—a paean to “the water wheel’s constant turn/open views and days to burn”—and indeed Time Off sounds as if Steve has swum full circle to reach the headwaters of his musical practice. This is Gunn at the top of his game, utterly unique but steeped in traditions both vernacular and avant-garde. Jump in.

>> Steve Gunn’s first album with a band, featuring John Truscinski and Justin Tripp
>> His most affecting, accessible, and articulate work of pure songcraft to date, with a new emphasis on vocals
>> Available on virgin vinyl, in a deluxe, limited edition, as well as on CD
>> Vinyl edition features matte, tip-on jacket, full-color inner sleeve, and digital download coupon
>> CD housed in heavy matte gatefold wallet
>> Package features artwork by Anthony Campuzano, Constance Mensh, and Justin Tripp

Pre-order your copy now from LightInTheAttic.net

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Posted in Distro, Good Stuff, New Releases, Paradise of bachelors | No Comments »

Honey Ltd. – “The Complete LHI Years” (CD | LP | Digital) PRE-ORDER

Friday, May 17th, 2013

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Honey Ltd. The Complete LHI Years
LITA 102 (CD | LP | Digital)
Available: July 23rd
PRE-ORDER NOW!

Light In The Attic is excited to announce the release of the latest gem from Lee Hazlewood’s LHI imprint, Honey Ltd. The Gorgeous and talented  girl group from Detroit, Michigan had all the makings of a hit band, yet they disappeared after releasing just one album in 1968, a vinyl rarity that now regularly fetches upwards of $2,000. Fans of The Ronettes, The Shangri-Las and Pentangle are in for a treat – Honey Ltd.’s music blended social commentary with harmony-drenched, psych-soul pop.

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* Photo courtesy of Temmer Darigan

Laura Polkinghome, Marsha Jo Temmer and sisters Joan and Alexandra Sliwin are the girls with the angelic voices. Hailing from Detroit, the four members of Honey Ltd. grew up in a culture of soul music and dance shows, yet forming a band was never part of the plan. It simply happened after they sung together in a Wayne State University cafeteria and found they’d silenced the room. In 1967 they had formed a group known as the Mama Cats and were playing shows with local singer Bob Seger. By 1968, against a backdrop of rioting in Detroit, they’d hauled over to Los Angeles to give music a go, and it’s there that they hitch-hiked to an audition with Lee Hazlewood on Sunset Boulevard. At the time, Lee Hazlewood Industries was in its prime: the money flowed and the roster swelled. “I think Lee just sat there for a while and listened, looking at us,” Temmer recalls. “He said, ‘Yeah, I think we can do something.’ You know – immediately!” Before long, LHI had the band in the studio with crack session music unit The Wrecking Crew.

These were not enlightened times for girl groups. The group were re-named Honey Ltd. by Hazlewood, and were put to work on an album without even realizing it. The band were under the impression they were simply recording singles. As a result, the band were unphased by Honey Ltd’s commercial failure.

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* Photo courtesy of Temmer Darigan

The parent label, however, did notice the album’s failure but the girls continued on. By the end of 1968, the band joined Bob Hope on the USO tour and headed to Thailand to perform for soldiers. In 1969, Alex married and quit the band, their tenure on LHI was effectively terminated and the remaining members regrouped as country-rock group Eve. But like their music, the girls’ outlook remained resolutely sunny.

“Its all a karmic equation, isn’t it?” Temmer recalled. “So many things to experience and learn and humbly let go of in this journey. Our friendship is based on love – we love each other… always have… always will.”

  • First time ever reissued
  • Remastered from the original mono tapes
  • Comprehensive liner notes by Jessica Hundley interviewing all four band members, including unseen photos
  • 180 gram LP housed in gatefold tip-on jacket and includes 18×24 fold-out poster (repro of original Billboard advert)
  • First pressing of CD and LP include die-cut Honey Ltd. sticker (shown above)
  • ON-LINE ONLY: First 150 pre-orders get limited pressing on Royal Blue wax! Don’t sleep!
  • LP SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Limited pressing of 150 on Red Velvet wax!

Pre-order Honey Ltd. The Complete LHI Years now from LightInTheAtti.net!

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Posted in Good Stuff, Honey Ltd., Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood Archive Series, LHI, New Releases, news | 2 Comments »

Free Basin’ Friday: Teo Laura Amao’s El Sonido de la Carretera Central | Vinyl LP

Friday, May 10th, 2013

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TGIF! It’s Free Basin’ Friday…time to giveaway some free stuff! This week we’ve got a distro vinyl LP of Teo Laura Amao’s El Sonido de la Carretera Central from the Masstropicas catalog. This album isn’t even in stores yet!! Be the first on your block to own El Sonido de la Carretera Central, featuring 12 essential tracks, spanning from 1973 to 1985, featuring various groups that Teo wrote and arranged songs for. Bands like Los Sanders, Los Blue Kings, Costa Azul, and of course, Los Jharis, with their hard rock and soul-influenced cumbia songs, are mainstays in the neighborhood known as ÑaÑa, as well as various other working class barrios in Lima, and Teo worked with all of them.

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Compiled from various 45, LP and cassette releases, we’re sure this compilation will get you hooked on Teo’s unique guitar slinging and his often imitated but never equaled ‘estilo Carretera’.

In the spirit of this rad cumbia compilation giveaway. This weeks Free Basin’ Friday question is: If you had a cumbia band what would the name be? Please give your answer in the comment box below. Do not forget to included your email address in the box provided, all addresses will be visible to Light In The Attic employees ONLY. Winners will be announced next Friday via Twitter and Facebook.

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Posted in Distro, Free Basin' Fridays, Good Stuff, New Releases | 35 Comments »

Teo Laura Amao | El Sonido de la Carretera Central | Masstropicas

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

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Masstropicas brings you another installment from “the sound of the Carretera Central” with the king of that style, Teo Laura Amao. El Sonido de la Carretera Central brings 12 more rare essential tracks, spanning from 1973 to 1985, featuring various groups that Teo wrote and arranged songs for. Bands like Los Sanders, Los Blue Kings, Costa Azul, and of course, Los Jharis, with their hard rock and soul-influenced cumbia songs, are mainstays in the neighborhood known as ÑaÑa, as well as various other working class barrios in Lima, and Teo worked with all of them.

Compiled from various 45, LP and cassette releases, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the uninitiated. We’re sure this compilation will get you hooked on Teo’s unique guitar slinging and his often imitated but never equaled ‘estilo Carretera’.

>> Highlights from the 40+ year career of Teo Laura Amao
>> 12 songs never released outside of Peru
>> One time pressing of 500 LPs
>> Features full color 11 × 22 insert with never before seen photos & liner notes

El Sonido de la Carretera Central comes out May 28, 2013, but you can pre-order your copy now from LightInTheAttic.net

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Posted in Distro, New Releases, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Public Image Limited: “First Issue” | Our 100th Release

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

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Public Image Limited: First Issue
(2xCD | LP+MP3s | Digital)
Available: June 18, 2013
PRE-ORDER NOW!

Marking our 100th release on Light In The Attic and following the Record Store Day reissue of PiL’s debut single ‘Public Image’, we are set to reissue the pioneering group’s debut album First Issue, available for the first time ever in the US.

In 1976 Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols set the agenda for punk’s year zero with ‘Anarchy In The UK’, a song that summed up the spirit, sound and attitude of the band in one shocking package. Two years later, the Sex Pistols were in tatters, but Rotten was as unsentimental as you’d hope. He reverted to his real name – John Lydon – and set about forming a band whose very identity kicked against press and media manipulation. Featuring bassist Jah Wobble, drummer Jim Walker and guitarist Keith Levene, his new group were Public Image Limited. The public image would be limited.

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PiL were a very distinct prospect from the Pistols, founded with a greater thought for rhythm, and with a sound that turned the page from snarling punk to a more experimental sound fusing rock, dance, folk, ballet, pop and dub. But that’s not to say Lydon’s new outfit lacked vitriol. ‘Public Image’ hits out against the notorious British tabloid press, who never gave Lydon an easy ride, and against his own Sex Pistols public image – “You only saw me for the clothes I wore”.

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The debut single (and the album that followed) operated as a theme song and a manifesto: “…my entrance/My own creation/My grand finale/My goodbye,” as the lyrics had it. It is, essentially, the sound of four people letting loose in a studio – and not caring what anyone else thought.

The album was never officially released in the USA back in the day, its sound considered too un-commercial by major-labels for an American release.

First Issue has been lovingly reproduced from the original UK 1978 release and this expanded reissue also comes with a clutch of post-punk era treasures. The CD edition is an expanded, two-disc set with an almost hour-long (unedited) October 1978 BBC audio interview with John Lydon, plus rare B-side “The Cowboy Song” from the period, and two stickers. The LP release includes an archive replica fold-out poster, archive replica tabloid adverts, a set of stickers, and Download Card for the album, the archival BBC interview, and “The Cowboy Song”. All of which were approved and coordinated with John Lydon and his personal management.

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  • First time available in North America
  • LP includes 180-gram LP housed in gatefold, tip-on jacket with an archive replica fold-out poster, two stickers, and archive replica newsprint adverts and lyrics insert. Plus, Download Card for full album, non-album single B-side: ““The Cowboy Song”” and an unedited October 1978 BBC audio interview with John Lydon
  • Double-CD release features the album, non-album single B-side: “”The Cowboy Song”” and an unedited October 1978 BBC audio interview with John Lydon, plus two stickers – all housed in a mini LP replica tip-on gatefold jacket
  • LP & CD Deluxe Versions, available at LightInTheAttic.net, include all of the above per format, plus archive replica PiL patch and set of 6 buttons

Posted in 100th Release, New Releases, Public Image Limited | 7 Comments »

Light In The Attic Docs Presents: Big Boys – Looking Back It’s Just Reflections

Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

If you were to distill every Light In The Attic release to its essential parts, you’d find the two necessary elements to be great music and the engaging history behind it. Over the years this passion has expanded from music releases to documentary films about our releases and adventures. From the Wheedle’s Groove film, to The Jim Sullivan Story, The Rock-N-Roll Farmers on Donnie & Joe Emerson, and even our annual Road Trip shorts, with Light In The Attic Docs we bring the stories behind our releases to screen.

In late 2012, we sent Light In The Attic’s own Patrick McCarthy to Austin, Texas to spend some quality time with Tim Kerr and Chris Gates of the legendary Skate Rock band the Big Boys. Over a long weekend, Patrick sat down with Tim and Chris to talk about punk and hardcore in the early 80s, the Austin scene, and their 1981 debut album, Where’s My Towel/Industry Standard. Where’s My Towel will be released in March 2013 by our imprint Modern Classics recordings on deluxe LP and cassette (a co-release with Burger Records)! For exclusive color variations, pre-order now at LightInTheAttic.net. For the story behind this album, watch Big Boys – Looking Back It’s Just Reflections above.

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Posted in Film, Light In The Attic Docs Presents, Movies, New Releases, news, Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

Lee Hazlewood Industries: You Turned My Head Around 1967-70 | OUT NOW!

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

Today is the day! For this very special Record Store Day / Black Friday, we give you – Lee Hazlewood Industries: You Turned My Head Around 1967-70. Available now to order directly from us online here or at your favorite record store, worldwide.

Part of the sheer joy of Light In The Attic’s excavation of Lee Hazlewood’s back catalogue has been exploring the output of his own, late ‘60s label, Lee Hazlewood Industries, which issued dozens of long forgotten 45s and LPs. Whether acid-folk, country-rock, pop-psych or soul, LHI artists were united by the patronage of the underdog hero of 1960s music, the moustachioed maverick Lee Hazlewood.

The best of these have been now collected in You Turned My Head Around, a lavishly packaged, 3000-edition box set of eleven 45s, featuring such LHI favorites as Suzi Jane Hokom, Honey Ltd., Kitchen Cinq, Ann-Margret, and of course the undeniable Mr Lee.

To say Lee Hazelwood neither sings nor appears on many of these tracks, You Turned My Head Around tells the listener much about the cult singer-songwriter, producer, film star and latter-day cowboy. Like Hazlewood’s own output, these are pop songs coloured by sadness, pain and wisdom. Hazlewood’s character is there in every long, spiral groove thanks to his stunning production.

That’s not to say there’s no variety. Artists include the Nico-like Lynn Castle with Last Friday’s Fire, the Zombies-like psych-poppers The Kitchen Cinq, blues-rockers Hamilton Streetcar, the sweet, trippy vocal group Honey LTD, instrumental group The Woodchucks, the Bobbie Gentry-like Ann Margret, psychedelic crooner Danny Michaels and the country stylings of Eve.

Then there are those tracks featuring Lee himself: Suzi Jane Hokom proves to be every bit the worthy counterpart to the big man’s sonorous baritone, just as Nancy Sinatra did before, and Hazlewood’s solo ‘Troublemaker’ – a song about a conscientious objector – could be the rebellious performer’s theme song.

For fans of the lesser-discovered parts of the ‘60s music cannon, this is a treasure trove, chronicling the rise and fall of the flower power ideal from multiple perspectives; not just that of the young bands looking to ride the groovy train to pop stardom but from the perspective of Lee himself, a man already with a long career behind him, an accidental pop star for whom the hippy movement was to be viewed through eyes with deeper crow’s feet than most.

As with all Light In The Attic releases, You Turned My Head Around has been produced with a great eye for detail. Housed in a custom-made, magnetic flip-top box, the package includes anLHI adapter and a free download card for all songs (handy for when you’re away from your beloved turntable). The eleven 7” singles each come in their own picture sleeve, making this a delight to hold, to see and to listen to.

Remember the first time you heard Nuggets? Get ready to get that feeling all over again. Lee Hazlewood Industries: You Turned My Head Around 1967-70 is available now, Black Friday (November 23rd, 2012), at great record shops across the globe and at LightInTheAttic.net!

  • Eleven 45RPM singles featuring original label/sleeve art, including an ultra-rare Woodchucks picture sleeve.
  • Housed in a gorgeous, custom-made, magnetic flip-top box, and packaged with a special, LHI 45 adapter to play those pressed middles in style.
  • Only 3000 hand-numbered copies produced, worldwide
  • Includes Lee Hazlewood puzzle, to keep you busy on those lonely nights
  • All tracks meticulously remastered – they’ve never sounded better
  • Free download card for all songs

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Posted in Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewood Archive Series, LHI, New Releases, news, RECORD STORE DAY! | 9 Comments »

Light In The Attic at WFMU’s Record Fair in New York City! ***CANCELLED**

Monday, October 29th, 2012

***WFMU 2012 Record Fair has been cancelled, due to Hurricane Sandy***

Despite hell and high water, Light In The Attic is coming to sling wax at this year’s WFMU record fair in New York City! For those of you who don’t already know, WFMU’s record fair is like heaven for us music junkies, with over 10,000 square feet of LPs, CDs, 45s, DVDs, and much much more. The fair takes place in Manhattan’s own Metropolitan Pavilion ( 125 West 18th Street), November 2nd – 4th. Admission is 7 bucks, or you can shell out a hefty $25 to get in early and have first dibs!

Seek out the Light In The Attic booth for all kinds of exciting tunes. We’ll have lots of great LITA titles available including the first pressing of the Searching For Sugar Man soundtrack by Rodriguez on limited white vinyl, Ray Stinnett‘s previously unreleased masterpiece A Fire Somewhere, the last of our limited edition Donnie & Joe Emerson Dreamin’ Wild hand numbered cassettes, and much much more!

We’ll also have a lot of hot distro titles for sale by Death Waltz Recordings, Dark Entries, Pharaway Sounds, etc!

Not to mention all of the LITA-LTD. merch- Lee Hazlewood, Rodriguez, Louvin Brothers and Light In The Attic Tee’s and totes to name a few. Be sure to mention the code word “rattlesnakes” at check out to receive 20% off your purchase!

We hope to see y’all there. Stay safe until then, we’re thinking of you.

Posted in Distro, Donnie and Joe Emerson, Good Stuff, Karen Dalton, Lee Hazlewood, Listen Whitey!, LITA-LTD, Merch, Mercury Rev, MIchael Chapman, Modern Classics Recordings, New Releases, Serge, Shin Joong Hyun, Total Distroduction!, WFMU | No Comments »

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