DenverSurfReport

TurnTable Kitchen's Top 10 Reasons to Buy Records

2012-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

FTA:
"For me, the ritual involved in playing my records is delicious. I’ll thumb through my record collection delightedly examining the spines of the records in my library before my fingers come to rest on the album I’m seeking. I’ll carefully pull the record out and remove the LP from the jacket. I examine the surface of the record in the light for dust and, if necessary, swiftly brush off any lint or dust that has collected. Next, I carefully place the record on the platter and clamp it to the spindle. I quickly blow on the stylus to remove any dust or fuzz that has collected there before lifting and subsequently lowering the needle to the record. The soft thump I hear when the needle makes initial contact with the vinyl is alone worth savoring. If music is a religion, then this is the sacrament."

Type Matters

2012-01-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

Nice letter to Brad Bird of Pixar from Matthew Butterick on the use of the font Verdana in the latest Mission Impossible movie.

"Verdana is a Microsoft font designed in 1996 designed to optimize the legibility of small text on low resolution computer screens. It wasn't intended for large size text on high resolution movie screens."

Read the letter here.

DC Comics ReBrands

2012-01-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

New logo

Read about it here.

Denver Post Interviews Local Hero Jason Heller

2012-01-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

"I grew up in a solidly blue-collar family full of truck drivers, waitresses and convicts," Heller said last week. "I know it sounds like a bad country song, but it's true. I'm one of the first people in my family to attend college."
Read it here.

Jason, enjoy the kudos and credit you deserve every stitch of it! Can't wait to keep reading what's next!

RIP King Stitt

2012-01-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

"No matter what the people say

These sounds leads the way

It’s the order of the day

From your boss deejay, I, King Stitt

Haul it from the top

To the very last drop !"
- King Stitt

Rest in Peace Ugly One!

Vinyl Sales Increase 39% in 2011

2012-01-06T08:36:00.001-08:00

My Top Ten for 2011

2011-12-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

In no particular order:
the Men - Leave Home
Tommy Guerrero - Lifeboats & Follies
Wooden Shijps - West
Moon Duo - Mazes
Shimmering Stars - Violent Hearts
Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
Unfact - split
DeathGrips - ExMilitary
All Pigs Must Die - the Blessed Void
Trash Talk - ep
Panda Bear - Tomboy
Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Unentitled
White Hills - hP-1
Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High
Cult of Youth - Cult of Youth
Beach Fossils - What a Pleasure
Weedeater - Jason the Dragon

I'm sure I'm forgetting something......

Bantam Boards

2011-12-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

I might have to get one of these!

GLOBE BANTAM from GLOBE on Vimeo.

New Banksy Piece

2011-12-15T13:39:00.001-08:00

aw yeah!

Great Men

2011-12-12T07:49:00.001-08:00

Check this mind blowing cover of this Gang of Four classic. Thanks for the link Dana!

White Girls on Facebook

2011-12-08T07:38:00.001-08:00

15 Things white girls do on FaceBook, so funny.

Does Time Exist?

2011-12-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

Complex organisms die. Sad though it is in individual cases, it’s a necessary part of the bigger picture; life pushes out the old to make way for the new. Remarkably, there exist simple scaling laws relating animal metabolism to body mass. Larger animals live longer; but they also metabolize slower, as manifested in slower heart rates. These effects cancel out, so that animals from shrews to blue whales have lifespans with just about equal number of heartbeats — about one and a half billion, if you simply must be precise. In that very real sense, all animal species experience “the same amount of time.”

heavy shit on a Wednesday morning....

FVGAZI

2011-12-01T09:30:00.001-08:00

Fugazi archive now starting to get live.

G.P.K.

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Gallery 1988 and Topp's and the Hundreds

did a Garbage Pail Kids show. Awesome!

Nicolas Jaar

2011-11-22T14:23:00.001-08:00

2 new singles from Nicolas Jaar, so good.

New Weller Single

2011-11-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

Quote Someone

2011-11-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

“Listen. All great literature is about what a bummer it is to be a human being: Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, The Red Badge of Courage, the Iliad and the Odyssey, Crime and Punishment, the Bible, and The Charge of the Light Brigade…” - Kurt Vonnegut

Reverse Zombie

2011-11-03T13:02:00.001-07:00

Another Killer Package

2011-11-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

What? No worm in this Mezcal?? what the? well, I still love the bottle.

40 Noises That Evolved Pop

2011-10-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Great list for fans of music, along with samples. Good stuff!

Evolving an Icon

2011-10-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

The Jack Daniels brand

is evolving.

Obama Asks for Free Graphic Help

2011-10-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

we call this spec work and no, it's not cool to ask.
FTA:
"Yes, the Obama campaign is soliciting unpaid labor to create a poster "illustrating why we support President Obama's plan to create jobs now, and why we'll re-elect him to continue fighting for jobs for the next four years."
no thanks!

a Sneak Peek at the New Packaging!

2011-10-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

PBR!!!

Aaron Draplin

2011-10-10T14:30:00.001-07:00

Aaron Draplin, one of my favorite graphics designers interviewed about some of ths shit he collects. Thanks Aaron, you're making my day.

Review of the OFF! Show Last Saturdy Night

2011-10-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Git Some opened, sorry I missed you guys, I love your album - but I was drinking in another bar at time you went on.

Fontside 5 played next, you guys need a sound engineer and a sound check.

Retox - I like your studio stuff more than your live show, my take from you was fire the singer and move the drummer to the front. That guy can play!

OFF! Keith and the boys kicked out the jams for sure, I love how on the encore Keith says "we've played all out songs already, we haven't written anymore so we're gonna go back and play the first 2 songs"

European Motorcycle Ride in 1953

2011-10-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

this is a great photo essay of days gone by. Link stolen from the mighty Coudal!

In the Summer of 1953 my father Geoffrey Gander and his friends set off on their annual Motor Cycling holiday around Europe.

It was probably quite an adventurous trip to take at the time.

They would ride through France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

We think of old bikes as being unreliable, but my father and his friends were keen riders and engineers and completed the trip without much more than a puncture.

The bikes that took part in the trip were:

GAU 856 Brough Superior SS100 with fuel in the loop sidecar

AHC 650 Triumph Thunderbird. He bought this one on 22nd July 1950 for £219 16 9 and by the day they set off in July 53 it had done 24,900 miles.

KBY 571 Sunbeam

VMM 871 Sunbeam

AHC 963 Triumph

Starbucks Lambretta Spot

2011-10-07T15:11:00.001-07:00

Starbucks Fall Blends - Italian Roast from Matt J on Vimeo.

About the Sounds

2011-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

I have hundreds of gigabytes of digital music. Yet I listen to less than one percent of it. Why? Because it's entirely overwhelming. I have so much, and it's so intangible, that I may as well not even have it. Don't get me wrong, I love the convenience of having entire days (weeks, months) worth of listening in my pocket. But scrolling down an endless list of albums just ain't the same as flipping through a crate of LPs. Cover Flow? Please. Listening to records is an entirely different musical experience. For me, vinyl is more active. More visceral. More mindful. More immersive. I pick the album, admire the cover art, slip it from its sleeve, and play it. And after 20 minutes or so, I turn it over and play the other side. Remember "the other side"? I had forgotten until recently, when I retrieved my record collection from storage and immersed myself in the vintage audio forums online to find the perfect new, old stereo system.

Punk Rock Parents

2011-10-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

documentary on punk rock parents, looks good

Use Your Illusion

2011-10-03T07:45:00.001-07:00

Some nice ones in here

Razor Blades and Knitting Needles

2011-09-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ray Davies wrote this with the help of his brother (and Kinks guitarist) Dave. Ray played it for Dave on piano, and Dave tried it on guitar. Their first version was 6-minutes long.

Dave Davies got the dirty guitar sound by slashing the speaker cone on his amp with a razor blade. The vibration of the fabric produced an effect known as "fuzz," which became common as various electronic devices were invented to distort the sound. At the time, none of these devices existed, so Davies would mistreat his amp to get the desired sound, often kicking it. The amp was a cheap unit called an Elpico.

Before they released this, The Kinks put out 2 singles that flopped. If this didn't do well, there was a good chance their record label would have dropped them.

When the Kinks heard the first version they recorded of this, they hated the results. It was produced by Shel Talmy, their manager at the time, and Ray Davies thought it came out clean and sterile, when he wanted it to capture the energy of their live shows. Dave Davies girlfriend backed them up, saying it didn't make her want to "drop her knickers." The Kinks' record company had no interest in letting them re-record this, but due to a technicality in their contract, The Kinks were able to withhold the song until they could do it again. At the second session, Dave Davies slashed his amp and Talmy produced it to get the desired live sound. This is the version that was released.

This was the first hit for The Kinks. It gave them a lot of publicity and led to TV appearances, magazine covers, and 2 gigs opening for The Beatles. They didn't have an album out yet, so they rushed one out to capitalize on the demand. This first album contained only 5 originals, with the rest being R&B covers.

Ray Davies recalled in an interview with NME how his brother Dave created the distortion effect on this song. Said Ray: "We stuck knitting needles in the speakers, or in Dave's case, he slit the speakers with a razor blade. In those days we played records on a radiogram so loudly that they all sounded fuzzy. We thought, 'That's a great sound,' without realizing the speakers were buggered. Everyone else was using really clean guitar sounds, so for 'You Really Got Me' we hooked a little speaker up to a clean amp and came up with thunderous, unaffected, pure power."

WOW

2011-09-23T13:26:00.001-07:00

MUNDAKA 24H from aritzaranburu.com on Vimeo.

Some Cool Furniture in Here!

2011-09-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Furniture by Jory Brigham Design

Obama to Raise Taxes

2011-09-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

to the tune of 1.5 trillion dollars.... I don't understand? if we can't pay for what we spend now how can the solution be to tax us more? Please President Obama stop spending what we don't have, please make some serious cuts with Congress and balance the fucking budget! Please!

Article here.

MLK Sculpture Completed by Chinese Unpaid Workers?

2011-09-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Say it isn't so!
FTA:
"While often overshadowed by his civil rights legacy, King was an outspoken defender of labor rights and was supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee when he was assassinated. But his memorial was built, in part, using free labor imported from China."

Quote From Rick James in 1981

2011-09-02T09:01:00.001-07:00

"Any artist who tells you that they don’t wanna get gold or platinum records is full of shit. Any artist who tells you he’s doing it for the sake of art is full of shit, OK? I am trying to make multi, multi-millions of dollars, I am trying to make Paul McCartney white boy money, so I can sit back and have a big house in Spain and not ever work again. Right now I got a few million dollars and I’m doing all right; I hope to have 20 million soon, so I can sit back real fat like Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart and all them other assholes who sit out there and talk shit and procrastinate and talk that hypocritical ass bullshit about their ‘art’…"
— Rick James, 1981

Isa Scott R.I.P.

2011-08-31T09:20:00.001-07:00

Isa Scott, Mother Of Bon Scott, Dies At 94

Wed, 31 Aug 2011

Bon Scott’s mum Isa Scott has died in Western Australia at the age of 94.

Isabelle Cunningham Mitchell married Charles Scott in Scotland in the 1940’s. On July 9, 1946, son Ronald Belford was born.

Isabelle and Charles were known as Isa and Chick. Ronald became known as Bon.

In 1952, Isa and Chick, along with Bon and his younger brother Derek migrated to Melbourne, Australia. In 1953, they had a third son, the Aussie born Graeme.

In 1956, the family moved to Fremantle in Western Australia, where Isa lived for the rest of her life.

Isa remained one of AC/DC’s biggest fans and attended a show on every tour after her son Bon’s death in 1979. She last saw the band live as a VIP guest at the AC/DC show at Subiaco Oval on March 6, 2010.

R.I.P. Isa.

SLAP Interviews Max Schaaf

2011-08-26T13:57:00.001-07:00

End of Summer Mix

2011-08-25T08:15:00.001-07:00

another decent mix from the HOOD INternet

Definition of Bad-Ass?

2011-08-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Having lung cancer and still helping me fell a tree. BAD ASS!

Frozen Ghost

2011-08-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

I love the bottle design and graphics, but a man stuck in a bottle of booze might make some people are little sweaty.

Frozen Ghost Vodka

For Me - this is as close as biking gets to skateboarding

2011-08-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Danny Macaskill just killing it, again.

not only is the riding spot-on, but so is the filming and the score. Sound and Vision once again!

30 Harsh Musicians on Musicians Quotes

2011-08-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

man, there are some gems in here Here's a couple:

Robert Smith on Morrissey
“If Morrissey says not to eat meat, then I’ll eat meat — that’s how much I hate Morrissey.”

Nick Cave on Red Hot Chili Peppers
“I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’ And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

Fred Perry to Release Amy Winehouse Collection

2011-08-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

She did some nice stuff for Fred Perry

Tons of Records in London Destroyed by Riots

2011-08-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Numerous independent record labels fear they have lost a catastrophic amount of stock in a fire at a distribution warehouse in north London during the riots in the capital on Monday night. A three-storey, 20,000 square-metre building in Enfield, owned by Sony DADC and holding stock to be distributed by the Pias Group, was burned to the ground.

Oh man, what a waste.

Van Halen and the Brown M&M's

2011-08-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

The 1980s was a heady and decadent time for rock stars. Stories of bad behavior by some of rock’s finest - be it trashing hotel rooms or simple prima donna demands - were splashed all over the headlines. And few of those stories were as famous as the “Van Halen and M&Ms” story.
Here’s the thing, though: the band put the “no brown M&Ms” clause in their contracts for a very good reason.

2011-08-05T07:59:00.001-07:00

"For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
- Charles Bukowski

Budweiser's New Can Design

2011-08-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

I like it, but I'll have see in person and of course sample the contents so as to make sure nothing else has changed.

Mission Bartenders

2011-08-03T13:09:00.001-07:00

some nice watercolors and thoughts in this one

Chelsea Hotel to Close

2011-08-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

Punk rock and poetic icon, NY history to close to guests.

2011-07-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

2011-07-29T09:28:00.001-07:00

You Know I'm No Good

2011-07-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

Some great live performances from Amy Winehouse.

Cut Chemist - Sound of the Police

2011-07-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

go forth and download!

Hey Gandalf! Nice dress!

2011-07-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

The Men - Leave Home

2011-07-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

just found my album of the year, read about it here:

All Kinds of Awesome Right Here

2011-07-14T12:21:00.001-07:00

Stop Spending Money We Don't Have!!!

2011-07-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for reelection.”
—
Warren Buffett

Donkey Kong Turns 30!

2011-07-11T14:32:00.001-07:00

I'm playing some tonight!

BMW Logo Evolution

2011-07-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

B M W

Interesting Take on Cars and Cars2

2011-07-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

I love Pixar, and I see all of their movies with my kids in the theater and then repeated viewings at home as well. I hated Cars when I saw it, even though it's nice to look at and I love cars it was just an awful flick on many levels. This guy has an interesting take on why he thinks it was awful......a Christian slant via 'Intelligent Design'. And no, I will not be seeing Cars2...... the only Pixar movie I will miss on purpose.

Review of 2012 Presidential Graphics and Branding

2011-07-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

No doubt about it....... - Obama's design team just kills it.

Steven Jesse Bernstein

2011-06-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

"More Noise Please" one of my most favorite poems. Ever.

Bigger and Longer than the one over Lake Pontchartrain

2011-06-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

I used to drive over Lake Pontchartrain everyday when I worked in New Orleans. Don't miss that drive......

Good Advice

2011-06-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

"Drink the local beer. Be the last to a party and the first to leave. Check out her mother before you marry her. Never take anybody's last anything. Keep the rear sights in focus and you'll hit it every time."
Poached from the TRAD

Olympic Maple

2011-06-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

rebranding Canada's Olympic team. Man, this is good

Thoughts From the Dying

2011-06-17T13:30:00.001-07:00

remember what's important

How to Drink Like Your Favorite Author

2011-06-17T08:13:00.001-07:00

yo, it's FRIDAY!!!!

2011-06-16T16:07:00.001-07:00

Mothball Fleet

2011-06-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

when I was a kid living in California we used to drive by this mothball fleet all the time. This is a killer photo essay on how these broke into/onto these historic ships and took some photos. Check it out.

Decline of the Empire

2011-06-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

an interesting article for sure, it's easy to pin on Bush that's what comes to my mind when I think of timelines......

Aaron De La Cruz Painting in West Oakland

2011-06-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

LOVE THIS

West Oakland, CA from Aaron De La Cruz on Vimeo.

RED HOOK Brewery Rebrands Itself

2011-06-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

for the most part I like it!

Volcom Hits the Denver Park

2011-06-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

New Limited Heineken Cans

2011-05-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

I do love me some limited cans

More on Record Collecting

2011-05-26T15:36:00.001-07:00

from Jim Cofer - an excellent article! thanks Jim!

Henry Rollins 1st Column for the LA Weekly

2011-05-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

and he talks about something I love.

FTA:
"As an LP spins, your needle goes on the musical journey with you, traveling great distances as it deftly picks up the analog information and delivers the sonic message to you in real time."

"Sitting in a room, alone, listening to a CD is to be lonely. Sitting in a room alone with an LP crackling away, or sitting next to the turntable listening to a song at a time via 7-inch single is enjoying the sublime state of solitude."

Death Grips

2011-05-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

loving the new Death Grips mixtape. Download ExMilitary.

lots of Bellrays this past weekend

2011-05-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

Music Made from Steely Dan Samples

2011-05-23T08:09:00.001-07:00

yup, just like the title

Physicist Stephen Hawking Says There Is No Heaven

2011-05-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

In an interview published Monday in The Guardian newspaper, the 69-year-old says the human brain is like a computer that will stop working when its components fail.

"There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark,"

YouTube now Posts its Top 100

2011-05-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

so cool, I welcome this chart as voted by the people

Thrasher 30th Anniversary

2011-05-10T07:20:00.001-07:00

Loading the player ...

Olly Moss PaperCuts

2011-05-09T12:45:00.001-07:00

nicely done!

M m m mmmmm mm mm mm m MY Ge gggg g gg gg gg g gGeneration

2011-05-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Were you born between 1964-73? If so, then like me, you’re a member of a lost generation mistakenly called “Generation X.” Members of this misidentified cohort were in their teens and 20s in the Eighties (1984-93, not to be confused with the 1980s); and in their 20s and 30s in the Nineties (1994-2003).

Great read if you were born around the same time as me - hecho 1970

Best Thing I've Seen this Week

2011-05-04T13:09:00.001-07:00

Go Michelle!!!!!

ZTrip Mixes the Beastie Boys

2011-05-03T08:19:00.001-07:00

Z-Trip Presents: All Access A Beastie Boys Megamix

Graf Cocktail Shaker

2011-04-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

nice!

Terrifying Statues

2011-04-27T08:08:00.001-07:00

Denver makes the list!

an Oral History of the Beastie Boys

2011-04-26T07:52:00.001-07:00

I saw the License to Ill tour here in Denver at the Mamouth on Colfax..... he heh remember that? Dancing Girls in cages.....Hurricane was on a giant 6 pack of Budweiser and Murphy's Law and Fishbone opened. It was epic. I saw them a couple times after that too but that show was over the top.

the Latest Commercial from Spike Jonze for Lakai

2011-04-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

New Work from Bill Watterson??

2011-04-25T08:07:00.001-07:00

This painting — by “Calvin and Hobbes” creator Bill Watterson — is the first new art from him that his syndicate has seen in the 16 subsequent years, say executives with Universal Uclick and its parent company, Andrews McMeel. The artwork is of the character Petey Otterloop from Richard Thompson’s comic strip “Cul de Sac.”

the Last Supper

2011-04-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

wow big post on lots of Last Supper parodys - thanks to the mighty COUDAL for the link

False Rarities

2011-04-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Great article on record collecting these days.......
FTA:
"The two songs, both Misfits covers, were released as free downloads long before the record was pressed in its edition of 2,000 copies. The record, this commenter seemed to believe, is utterly unnecessary.

But, I mean, of course it is. Isn’t every record? And isn’t every limited-edition collector’s piece an example of false rarity? They could press more, but they didn’t. This wasn’t because the equipment or the raw materials to manufacture them were missing, or because the master recordings were lost forever to some unfortunate accident, but because the decision was made to press only a certain arbitrary amount of the record, and that was that."

Lester Bangs Basement

2011-04-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

neat article on how nothing is really collectable anymore - since we have the internet and virtually access to any music or film we'd like to see. I remember back when "Across the Trax" was open on 13th here in Denver - that was the only place you could rent the movie 'Star Wars Christmas Special' and it was a treat to be able to see it when most thought it was a just a legend, now you can see it on youtube anytime you like. The world has moved on.

Twist and Shout

2011-04-15T12:24:00.003-07:00

I'll be doing some shopping here tomorrow!

Auto-Buds

2011-04-13T08:16:00.001-07:00

the term for when the same model cars park next to each other on the street. If there's one like mine in a lot I always park next to it.

New Zine Out from one of my faves Andrea Joseph

2011-04-12T10:14:00.000-07:00

you can check it out here and there's a link to her Etsy joint

Saturday is RECORD STORE DAY!!!!!

2011-04-12T08:10:00.001-07:00

Prevent this Tragedy

Best Thing I heard in a While

2011-04-06T09:44:00.000-07:00