January 2012
32 posts
2012.01.31 Euphone - Hashin' It Out
Color: Transparent Yellow Released: 2000, October Label: Jade Tree I’m not even sure how to describe Euphone. Fun? Awesome? Essential? I think Euphone helped me to embrace music outside of typical indie rock/rock/punk/pop stylings. Elements of jazz, funk, dub, fusion and rock peek their head in the door occasionally to see what this duo (actually kind of a trio with a handful of special...
Jan 31st
2012.01.30 All Tiny Creatures - Harbors
Color: Blue & Yellow Released: 2011, March 29 Label: Hometapes When I heard Collections of Colonies of Bees (ex)member Thomas Wincek’s first ep under the ATC moniker, Segni, I had no idea that he was building up to what would become Harbors, the band’s first full length. The Reichian flare of the ep seemed to plant him firmly in the land of long-distance instrumental work...
Jan 30th
2012.01.29 The Jesus Lizard - Goat
Color: Black Released: 1991, March (Reissued 2009, October 6) Label: Touch & Go Bands like The Jesus Lizard kinda give me a sense of pride about being from Chicago. In high school, I remember a handful of the cool kids (regarded by most as the weird kids, so I guess only cool to me and a few of my equally nerdy friends) wearing Jesus Lizard shirts at least once or twice a month.  Why I...
Jan 29th
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2012.01.28 Jawbox - Tongues 7"
Color: Black Released: 1992, February Label: Dischord This is the first piece of Jawbox vinyl I ever owned. I’m having difficulty remembering exactly how and when I acquired it. Anyway, this recording marks the inaugural inclusion of second guitarist/vocalist Bill Barbot and “Tongues” remains one of the best Jawbox songs ever. This was a nice tease to where the band would...
Jan 28th
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2012.01.27 Unwed Sailor - The Faithful Anchor
Color: Black Release Date: 2001, September 10 (Reissued on vinyl by BTV in 2002 and 2007) Label: Lovesick / Burnt Toast Vinyl This album reminds me of Chicago. And not because the band was based out of that city at the time of its release. I distinctly remember going to my friend Jessica’s apartment in Uptown for one of her many get-togethers and slipping this in the CD player and at...
Jan 27th
2012.01.26 Bitch Magnet - Ben Hur/Umber/Star Booty
Color: Black Release Date: Reissued on 2011, November 29 Label: Temporary Residence Don’t know about you, but there seems to always be bands that I should have checked out way back when and never did. That’s the beauty of this blog, though (for me anyway) - Posting about Turing Machine a few weeks back prompted to me to do some reading about their history and formation. Before...
Jan 26th
2012.01.25 Fugazi - End Hits
Color: Black Release Date: 1998, April 28 Label: Dischord It should go without saying that Fugazi is a damn important band. If you have no clue, stop right now and go watch the documentary film Instrument. I was first introduced to Fugazi as late as 1993. They didn’t necessarily take right away. And sometimes the best bands/albums don’t. I first heard In On The Killtaker...
Jan 25th
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2012.01.24 Tristeza - Espuma
Color: Black Release Date: 2003 Label: Gravity A recent addition to the collection, thanks to my good friend Matt. I got turned onto Tristeza before my 2003 obsession with all things instrumental. This and their Mania Phase ep are a bit more experimental than their proper full lengths, but are no less rewarding (some patience is required, though). The band experiments with jazz, dub and...
Jan 24th
2012.01.23 Braid - Frame & Canvas
Color: Black Release Date: 1998, April 7 (A day before my birthday *ahem*) Label: Polyvinyl Braid were always a good band. A real good band. But the release of Frame & Canvas seemed to catapult them to “great band” status. I admit I was only mildly paying attention prior to this record. But when I heard J Robbins (of Jawbox) was at the helm of the production of this record, I...
Jan 23rd
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2012.01.22 John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Color: Black Release Date: 1965, February (2009 Reissue?) Label: Impulse! Aside from introducing me to lots of great instrumental rock bands, my buddy Aaron also turned me on to Mr. Coltrane and, subsequently, jazz in general. Like the Beatles, I consider the ‘Trane and this record in particular to be “sacred music.” I mean that apart from the fact that this was...
Jan 22nd
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2012.01.21 Burning Airlines - Passing Complexion...
Color: Black Release Date: 1999 Label: Passing Complexion This is a really cool seven inch. Burning Airlines, for those who don’t know, came out of the break up of Jawbox and initially featured both J Robbins and Bill Barbot from that band. The band performed live in Manheim, Germany and the Passing Complexion folks were on hand to record the show. This features two songs from that...
Jan 21st
2012.01.20 Slint - Spiderland
Color: Black Release Date: 1991, March 1991 (I’m guessing my a copy is 2004 repress) Label: Touch & Go I will try to do this one justice. And probably fail. But here goes… It’s 1995 - I just graduated high school, got a new job, joined a band and just barely started to discover “post punk,” or what-have-you type bands. Mostly hardcore and bands somehow...
Jan 20th
2012.01.19 Aloha - Sugar
Color: Black Release Date: 2002, May 14 Label: Polyvinyl God bless Polyvinyl Records - they just keep cranking out quality releases. I found Aloha in 2003, when I was starting to obsess over indie rock bands who were using vibraphone and marimba prominently in their music. Not only were Aloha doing just that but they had this math-y Midwestern feel married to catchy vocal melodies. When I...
Jan 19th
2012.01.18 Quicksand - Slip
Color: Black Release Date: 1993, February 9 Label: Polydor Another game-changer for me. Mostly because, prior to discovering this band I wasn’t aware of a whole lot of “punk” or “alternative” that didn’t garner a certain amount of mainstream attention. I was beginning to get into hardcore and punk bands like Fugazi (don’t worry their records will be...
Jan 18th
2012.01.17 Fennesz - Endless Summer
Color: Black Release Date: 2001 (Reissued 2010, October) Label: Editions Mego In 2008 I seemed to be getting into a lot of music that combined electronic sounds with acoustic instruments. Fennesz definitely became a quick favorite. Endless summer is probably his most accessible output - though it still features plenty of glitchy textures and doesn’t aim for straight up “pop”...
Jan 17th
2012.01.16 The Life And Times - Suburban Hymns
Color: Clear Release Date: 2005, August 9 (issued on vinyl in 2007?) Label: Hawthorne Street / DeSoto I’m posting this record today in honor of The Life and Times’ newest full length being released tomorrow. I’ve been a fan of Allen Epley’s musical output since first discovering Shiner in 1997. Mr. Epley has one of the most under-appreciated voices in punk rock/rock...
Jan 16th
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2012.01.15 The Beatles - Revolver
Color: Black Release Date: 1966, August 5 Label: Capitol Hands down my favorite Beatles record.  Choc full of great rock n’ roll songs and heralding the beginning of “psychedlic” music with songs like “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Save for the sometimes annoying “Yellow Submarine,” it’s a perfect album. It always baffles me when someone says they...
Jan 16th
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2012.01.14 Do Make Say Think - Goodbye Enemy...
Color: Black Release Date: 2000, March 27 Label: Constellation During my obsession with finding good instrumental bands, a friend recommended that I check out Do Make Say Think. I promptly marched my ass down to Laurie’s Planet of Sound (I was living in Chicago in a great apartment within walking distance of the shop in the Lincoln Square neighborhood at the time) and promptly purchased...
Jan 14th
2012.01.13 - Pedro The Lion - Big Trucks 7"
Color: Black Release Date: 1998 (limited to 1000) Label: Made in Mexico I’m not sure when I bought this, but I remember being so excited that there was new Pedro the Lion material available for consumption. I think this was before I was obsessed with buying vinyl, too… I just wanted new Pedro. Big Trucks is probably one of the catchiest and funniest songs David Bazan has ever...
Jan 13th
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2012.01.12 Jawbox - For Your Own Special...
Color: Black Release Date: 1994, February 8 / Reissued:  2009, November 24 Label: DeSoto/Atlantic (Reissued on Dischord) File Under: Favorite records of all time. In fact, this is probably my favorite RECORD of all time. So how does one write about his favorite album and remain somewhat brief? I’m not sure. So here goes… (Stares blankly at screen for a solid two minutes)…...
Jan 12th
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2012.01.11 All The Saints - Fire On Corridor X
Color: White Release Date: 2008, September 9 Label: Touch & Go ‘Saw these dudes open for The Jesus Lizard two years ago and was quite impressed. I then decided to pick up their record the next time I was in favorite local haunt Criminal Records. I was a bit shocked to find out that Touch & Go put out the record, but it looks like this LP came out just before the big announcement...
Jan 11th
2012.01.10 Pele - The Nudes
Color: Black Release Date: 2000, September 19 Label: Polyvinyl I always knew about Pele back when they were active, but from the end of 2008 and all throughout 2009, I became sort of obsessed with them. I intentionally put all their albums on my iPod when preparing to study abroad in France for an entire quarter. Thus, whenever I hear them now I think about traveling through the Luberon...
Jan 10th
2012.01.09 Tears for Fears - Songs From The Big...
Color: Black Release Date: 1985 Label: Mercury This record reminds me of growing up. Yet, it’s more than that… because when I finally took the time to explore this record as an adult, I found that Tears for Fears were more musically dense than I originally imagined. Most people are familiar with “Shout” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” If...
Jan 9th
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2012.01.08 Bluetip - Polymer
Color: Black Release Date: 2000 Label: Dischord The design of this record was one of the reasons I wanted to study design. Although… you don’t get the full effect on the vinyl version. Admittedly, the packaging seems to be designed around the CD format. I would see this CD sitting on the shelf every time I went into the now defunct Clubhouse Records in Chicago (which was nestled...
Jan 8th
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2012.01.07 Turing Machine - A New Machine For...
Color: Red with white marbling Release Date: 2000 January Label: Jade Tree From 2003 to 2004 I played in an instrumental rock band based out of Nashville, TN. The drummer of that band was a gentlemen by the name of Aaron Ford. While I already had plenty of musical common ground with him (enough to play bass in his band, anyway), Aaron introduced me to a lot of great bands. Turing Machine was...
Jan 8th
2012.01.06 The Cure - Disintegration
Color: Black Release Date: 1989, May ’ Reissued in 2010 Label:  Fiction Records/ Atlantic/ Rhino Records File under: favorite records of all time. I’m sitting here thinking about it, and I think The Cure are one of those bands that have stuck with me the entire time since I started to actually pay serious attention to music. You go through phases and a few embarrassments on your...
Jan 6th
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Welcome!
Welcome to Play & Record! The short version of why this exists is that this will be a document of 366 records within my record collection, posted one day at a time throughout the entirety of 2012. Take a look around. Kick the Tires. Scope the “about” page (it’s kinda hidden there at the bottom.. but you kinda get the full story if you read it). Got any suggestions? Any...
Jan 5th
2012.01.05 Godspeed You Black Emporer! - F♯ A♯ ∞
Color: Black Release Date: 1997, October Label: Constellation Records like these a huge portion of why I decided to take on this project. I mentioned previously about the package an audio recording comes in being able to create an intended experience. Well this is how it’s done, folks! GYBE!/Constellation didn’t just print up glossy sleeves and stick records in them and call it a...
Jan 5th
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2012.01.04 Hoover - The Lurid Traversal Of Route 7...
Color: Transparent Green Release Date: Original Release in 1994, Re-released: 2010 Label: Dischord This is just one of many Dischord releases I have in my collection. It’s good to know that this label still exists and continues to put out quality music. If you aren’t at all familiar with the label, you owe yourself to do a bit of research. Hoover fit right in. Their sound was very...
Jan 5th
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2012.01.03 Pink Floyd - Meddle
Color: Black Release Date: 1971, October 30 Label: Harvest This is the beauty of music being passed down through the generations. I remember my step-dad introducing me to Pink Floyd, and my “punk rock,” adolescent self not really getting it. Fast-forward a few years and this is now my favorite Floyd record. This is due mostly because of the inclusion of “One of These...
Jan 4th
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2012.01.02 The Life and Times - Day II b/w Day III...
Color: Pink Release Date: 2011, March 15 Label: Hawthorne Street Records Day two of this project brings us the appropriately named “Day II” 7-inch from Chicago-by-way-of-Kansas City’s The Life and Times. I’ve been a fan of Mr. Allen Epley’s musical endeavors since the Shiner days. This release continues the trail that AE & co have been blazing since the first...
Jan 3rd
2012.01.01 Wye Oak - Civilian
Color: Black Release Date: 2011, March 8 Label: Merge Records Starting off with my favorite record 0f 2011. The packaging is pretty simple - glossy sleeve with a simple white dust jacket holding the vinyl. The photo itself is indicative of the overall subject matter of Jenn Wasner’s lyrics (death, loveless relationships, etc) yet this and the very cold, modern sans-serif typeface betray...
Jan 2nd
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