I was reminded last weekend of the day five years ago that was our last gig using vinyl in the city, at Union Square Ballroom, lugging crates of records downstairs there. Obviously the biggest factor is carrying the records, and you’d need a truckload of records to equate a sizable 10,000 or so MP3 song collection, but another factor was them getting destroyed. I could live with an AC/DC or Motley Crue album getting a little worn and torn, ones where tens of millions of copies were printed and wouldn’t be a big deal to replace, but once the rarer stuff like some of the latin soul and salsa from the sixties and early seventies soul albums were getting too worn it was time to hang them up.
A couple of specific records came to mind when I was going through the 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die book again and can’t believe they were left out. The first, John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard 1961, and the second is Curtis/Live! recorded at the Bitter End in 1971. This record is so good I would even go so far as to say it’s Curtis Mayfield’s best album, with Roots a close second. And on par with the best late 60s/early 70s soul music. To think that this was his debut album as a solo artist is just incredible, I can’t think of anything coming out today that would even come close.
It’s 3 a.m. and you’re in the train station waiting for what seems like an eternity for your train to arrive. After a long night of partying, you’re halfway asleep on the subway bench. A huge priority is to drown out the techno pumping from the guy’s ipod right next to you.
It’s the dead of winter in New York City, two months in, two months to go and above all the layers of clothing your ipod is still churning out tunes. What are some gems that would be the perfect playlist to get you home during this reflective, sleepy time? We’ll call it Tears in Your Beers 2009 djnyc mix Volume I, not for djing, not for events, only to wallow quietly. Since it’s a long winter there will be more…!
1. All My Days – Alexi Murdoch 2. Intervention – Arcade Fire 3. Enemy – Buffalo Tom 4. Stripped – Depeche Mode 5. Angeles – Elliott Smith 6. Stars ‘n’ Stripes – Grant Lee Buffalo 7. NYC – Interpol 8. Lover, You Should’ve Come Over – Jeff Buckley 9. Solid Sender – John Lee Hooker 10. Hurt – Johnny Cash 11. Bron-Yr-Aur – Led Zeppelin 12. Glory Bound – Martin Sexton 13. Northern Sky – Nick Drake 14. Something I Can Never Have – Nine Inch Nails 15. A Change Is Gonna Come – Otis Redding 16. Drunkard’s Prayer – Over the Rhine 17. Long Ride Home Patty Griffin 18. The Dark End of the Street – Percy Sledge 19. Wave of Mutilation – Pixies 20. The Drugs Don’t Work – The Verve
April 16, 2009
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