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Bido Lito! April 2015
DIGGING A LITTLE DEEPER
with Dig Vinyl
Bold Street’s latest wax junkies DIG VINYL know a thing or two about the weird and wonderful
depths of people’s record collections, and each month they’ll be rifling through their racks and
picking out four of their favourite in-stock records. This month they’ve picked out some limitededition nuggets from the official releases for Record Store Day 2015 (18th April). Keep digging…
COURTNEY BARNETT
KIM’S CARAVAN
Melbourne singer/songwriter COURTNEY BARNETT has already attracted
worldwide acclaim largely down to the huge success of 2013’s A Sea
Of Split Peas. Her upcoming debut LP Sometimes I Sit And Think And
Peas
Sometimes I Just Sit expands on all the strengths of her double EP:
Bob Dylan-inspired lyrical witticisms, deadpan ramblings and musical
experiments that vary between grunge, indie and dream pop. This Record
Store Day 12” single makes for a future collector’s item as it features an exclusive and touching cover of
John Cale’s Close Watch on the flipside.
JOHNNY MARR
I FEEL YOU
Surely one of the most important alternative rock guitarist of the
last 40 years, JOHNNY MARR has forged a strong solo career of his
own and has recently demonstrated his continuing popularity with
a sold-out show at Liverpool’s own Arts Club. It should come as no
surprise then that there has already been massive demand and
interest in this 7” release, a cover of the Depeche Mode classic I Feel
You. With signature stabs of staccato guitar and dark, droning vocals, it’s a faithful homage that does
justice to the original. And if a version of The Smiths’ Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
as the B-side doesn’t whet your appetite, then the fact this RSD exclusive comes on numbered and
coloured vinyl should.
THE ZOMBIES
R.I.P.
After the positive reception of their now iconic LP Odessey And
Oracle, THE ZOMBIES began putting together material for a followup. New songs were combined with old out-takes and demos, but
unfortunately the album never saw the light of day – cancelled before
its scheduled release date in 1969. Now, this album is being released
in its entirety on vinyl for the first time, as it was intended to be
put out in the United States. R.I.P. displays the autumnal baroque pop sound that made the band
famous at its best, and is an essential and undiscovered gem for casual fans and collectors alike.
TEMPLES
MESMERISE
Psychedelic pop rockers TEMPLES shot to fame with the release
of their debut LP Sun Structures, put out by our friends at Heavenly
Records. In their short existence they have earned the endorsement
of Noel Gallagher, who called them “the most important new band
in Britain” (we were just as shocked to hear Noel praise anyone, too).
With dreamy synth, spaced-out glam vocals akin to Marc Bolan, and
a roster of tunes as catchy as anything you’re likely to hear, the lads are certainly going places. This
extended live version of one of their most popular tracks demonstrates all these strengths, and
features a remix of Move With The Season by The Horrors on the reverse.
Head to bidolito.co.uk now to stream the latest Dig Vinyl Podcast, featuring a mixture of new, old
and half-forgotten classics.
THE
FINAL
SAY
Words: Phil Gwyn / notmanyexperts.com
Illustration: Christian Davies
The general election deadline day of 7th May creeps ever closer, even though it seems as though
the electioneering campaigns began months after 2010’s election results were confirmed. Faced
with the prospect of another five years of austerity, Phil Gwyn argues that those of us in the creative
industries should be looking for a fairer deal.
It seems to me that although the beginning
of this general election campaign was
characterised by Russell Brand-isms declaring all
parties to essentially be the same, it now seems
to be dominated by the issue of the economy
and rising inequality, and the choice has become
stark. Either further cuts from a Tory Party – who
intend to amputate public spending to a share
of GDP not seen since the1930s – or a less severe
approach from Labour.
Austerity, as we have seen over the past few
years, is a policy that is levied disproportionately
on those who can least afford it, yet at least it
seems that we are aware that society is more
unequal than at any time in living memory.
Social media is groaning under the weight of
TED talks on “the 99%...”, the Occupy movement
is ingrained in the public’s consciousness, and
the most influential economist of recent years,
Thomas Piketty, has made his career by arguing
that capital concentration is becoming ever
more polarised.
Another seemingly unconnected issue that
the music industry in particular has been
facing is that independent artists are finding it
harder than ever to make music into something
resembling a career. A recent New York Times
interview with Grizzly Bear centred on their
struggle to turn their worldwide acclaim into
anything beyond a hobby that allows them to
subsist. Grizzly-blood KP