Tuesday afternoon I'll be adding a new section to the store. Though I haven't thought of what to call it yet, to me, it'll be sort of a mishmash of Staff Picks and Best in Class. Basically, I'll take a section of the wall and highlight some of my favourite CDs and DVDs that are currently in the store. I'll stick a little card on them with some cherry-picked reviews in the hopes that I can turn you onto some tunes and flicks that you may not have heard of but which I consider some of the best music and movies out there. I'm doing this partly because the staff often gets asked for recommendations and when put on the spot it can be difficult to come up with an answer. This is due to the nature of a used shop. Were we working at a store that primarily carried new material, we could just always order our favourite albums from the distributor. Being at the mercy of what walks in the door makes the recommendation task a little harder.

I don't know how often I'll have a chance to do this but I'll see if we can have 10 - 15 things from various genres and countries up on the wall (right above the new arrivals) at all times. As always,.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on new endeavours like this is always appreciated. Keep in mind that we generally only have one of each of these in stock at any time as I'm trying to feature titles we don't see super often.

Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day (London; 1970; Folk)

From Pitchfork's 9/10 review: "Produced in 1970 by the legendary Joe Boyd, Just Another Diamond Day has long been considered a holy grail for Brit-folk record collectors, with original copies of the album fetching over $1,000 at auction. It shouldn't take many listens to realize why it's so highly regarded; Just Another Diamond Day is, in its own humble way, nearly a thing of perfection. ... The album features contributions from such folk luminaries as The Incredible String Band's Robin Williamson, Fairport Convention's David Swarbrick and Simon Nicol, as well as string arrangements by Robert Kirby, who performed the same duties for Nick Drake. Boyd's production is impeccable, with the sound of each breath and string given an appropriate weight in the mix. This is crucial because of the almost impossible fragility of Bunyan's voice, an instrument as lovely and delicate as a dew-covered spider's web but one which could easily be drowned out by over-instrumentation. ... it's unlikely that you'll encounter another album as charming or transporting as Just Another Diamond Day any time soon."


Songs: Ohia - Didn't It Rain (Chicago, USA; 2002; Rock/Singer-Songwriter)

"By all rights it should firmly establish Molina as one of the most distinctive singer/songwriters of his generation." -- Allmusic (4.5 outta 5)

"The compositions here are elemental, filled with flame as well as steel and stone, and they tie Molina's native Ohio together with his current home, Chicago. In the process of recording another incredible album, he's discovered that light is most visible when it's flickering alone in the dark." -- Pitchfork (8.4 outta 10)


Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children (Scotland; 1998; IDM, Electronica)

"an amazing LP ... one of the best electronic releases of 1998." -- Allmusic (5 stars outta 5)

"[reveals] Boards of Canada to be geniuses with texture, where god is in the details. ... You aren't likely to hear more subtly effective layering of sounds on any electronic record in the last 10 years: Music Has the Right to Children is as unified and complete they come. Here, Boards of Canada set their sights on a small set of moods and characteristics-- innocence, apprehension, wonder, mystery-- and probed every possibility in minute detail." -- Pitchfork (10 outta 10)


Rachel's - Systems / Layers (USA; 2003; Post Rock, Avant-Pop, Neo Classical)

"The predominantly instrumental Systems/Layers follows eight characters through one day of their lives in the city, relying on urban field recordings and the distinctive subway chamber music of the group to tell these stories. ... Systems/Layers is cerebral and human, transporting you without insulting your intelligence." 4/5 -- Allmusic


Bedhead - What Fun Life Was (USA; 1993; Slowcore, Alternative Rock)

"The various comparisons to the Velvet Underground, Joy Division, and Spacemen 3 all make a certain sense, but even at this early stage of the band's life, Bedhead have much more of an individual sensibility, something that fuses and looks beyond rather than simply rehashing." -- Allmusic (4.5 outta 5)


Low - Things We Lost In the Fire (USA; 2001; Slowcore, Alternative Rock; Dream Pop)

"Over the course of their career, Low's glacially beautiful music has gradually melted into something much more accessible and intimate. The thaw culminates on Things We Lost in the Fire; despite its brooding title, it's the group's loveliest, most approachable collection of songs yet. Voluptuous strings, softly fuzzy guitars, and propulsive percussion... Low's most cohesive, compelling collection, but one of 2001's best albums." -- Allmusic (4.5 outta 5)

We actually have more Low CDs in the store than I think we ever have before. If you're a fan and are missing anything from their catalog, it'd be a good time to come in. In addition to the wonderful Things We Lost in the Fire, we have all of their early Vernon Yard CDs (I Could Live in Hope, Long Division, and The Curtain Hits the Cast) the Kranky release Secret Name and Trust, the SubPop releases Drums and Guns and The Great Destroyer, as well as the box set, A Lifetime of Temporary Relief.


James Carr - The Essential James Carr (UK; 1960s and onward; comp released 1995; Soul, R&B)

"When the soul era of the mid-'60s was in full bloom, for a period of three years James Carr was the maker of some of its mightiest music. His warm, soulful voice could make the reading of virtually anything he touched a transcendent event... this 20-track collection is where you go to get the big picture on an artist who deserves a much wider hearing." -- Allmusic (5 outta 5)


Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place (Texas; 2003; Post Rock, Alternative Rock, Instrumental Rock)

"A contemplative and heady rush of masterful melancholia... both pretty and pretty damn heartbreaking." -- Allmusic (4.5 outta 5)

"... a revelation... With this album, Explosions in the Sky have constructed a sweetly melodic, inspirationally hopeful album for a genre whose trademark is tragedy. For the astute listener, under the CD tray, amongst the illustrated scattered leaves, lies the answer to the album's desperately optimistic title; it reads "Because You Are Listening." It serves as a poignant parting sentiment from a band whose music is as dramatic as finding hope." -- Pitchfork (7.7 outta 10)


James Hunter - People Gonna Talk (UK; 2001; Soul / Soul-Blues)

"Truly a man, and an album, out of time, James Hunter travels back to the '60s for this slinky shot of retro soul-blues...Vocally, Hunter's croon falls on the smooth Sam Cooke ... exudes classy, cool fun that feels timeless. An instant party starter, it'll make you want to do the Twist, the Jerk, the Shimmy, and the Mashed Potato, or at least learn how." -- Allmusic (4 outta 5)


Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (Sweden; 2007; Pop)

"Nothing on Jens Lekman's second album does anything to change the fact that he's a true pop music genius. ... It'll have you walking in the clouds before the first song is half over and have you filled with happiness for days afterward. What more could you ask for?" -- Allmusic (4.5 outta 5)

"...wry, sometimes melancholic observations worthy of [Jonathan] Richman or the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt..." -- Pitchfork (9 outta 10)


M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent (USA; 2003; Pop, Folk)

Before Matt Ward was known as the dangly-bitted half of She & Him, he released a number of solo records, all of which are worth owning...

"... nothing less than spectacular... a quiet record [that] might lose some listeners in it's sleepy summer melancholy, but M. Ward is the real deal -- and he's surely worthy of heaps of attention and acclaim." -- Allmusic (4 outta 5)

"Some time in 2035, I'm going to pull this album out, and it's going to sound just as good as it does now... Ward's singing and writing has developed into something truly special and unique ... There are moments on Transfiguration of Vincent for which words fail." -- Pitchfork (8.3 outta 10)


DJ /rupture - Minesweeper Suite (UK; 2002; Jungle, Techno, Drum N Bass, Turntablism)

"This relentlessly danceable collection of beats, noise, and dub concrete, DJ /rupture's first full-length statement, isn't just a party mix... Whether mixing the Middle East-meets-Africa sounds of Nubian artist Mahmoud Fadi, appropriating a Foxy Brown lyric, or reworking Cex, Minesweeper Suite dissolves the boundaries between artistic genres and disrupts the legacy of colonialism by respectfully juxtaposing cultural differences that underlie various source material -- and in doing so, forces listeners to confront their notions of genre, culture, and ethnicity." -- Allmusic (4 outta 5)


Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Athens, GA; 1998; Folk, Alternative, Pop, Rock)

Many people of my generation consider this the greatest album of the 90s. Time of course will tell but it's certainly a contender. For those who listened to "alternative" music in that decade, Aeroplane, along with Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, was a defining album that couldn't have been spun too often.

"Perhaps best likened to a marching band on an acid trip, Neutral Milk Hotel's second album is another quixotic sonic parade; lo-fi yet lush, impenetrable yet wholly accessible, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is either the work of a genius or an utter crackpot, with the truth probably falling somewhere in between. " -- Allmusic (5 outta 5)

"As beautiful as it is disturbing, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is a stunning piece of art that draws you deeper with each listen. Most great art takes time to appreciate, and this album is no exception." -- Tiny Mix Tapes (5 outta 5)


Smog - A River Ain't Too Much To Love (Texas; 2005; Folk, Rock, Pop)

"... evokes the ethos and poetry of spooky American folk and country music without ever actually playing them in his own tomes, using mainly waltzes to frame them. Americana this ain't. Callahan has the ability to write first-person narrative songs that cannily juxtapose an evocative physcal landscape that metaphorically references deep emotional states; he uses it to great effect here.... a subdued, plaintive collection of songs that accompany silence; they encourage reflection without guile and unveil themselves without a hint of studied artifice." -- Allmusic (4 outta 5)

"... like life welling up where it had once been suppressed, as human as anything Callahan has ever done." -- Pitchfork (7.7 outta 10)

Regulars to the store will know that Smog (aka Bill Callahan) is one of my all-time favorite artists. He's one of the best singer-songwriters going and he's been going for 20 or so years. A River Ain't Too Much To Love was the last album he released before he started putting out albums under his given name. Here's Gil Scott-Heron covering "I'm New Here," the second to last track on this fantastic album.



In other news, I should be getting a box of vinyl (and a few cds) tomorrow. Among them will hopefully be Best Coast's latest, which is getting raves, on vinyl and cd, as well as records from Arcade Fire, Lee Fields, Jimmy Cliff, Ornette Coleman, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Miles Davis, and Bob Marley.

Here's the lead track from the Best Coast LP which I'm guessing at the very least Mackenzie will dig and Matt will poo-poo as overrated: