Record Store Day 2011
Posted: 03.25.2011 Filed under: 2011, announcement, of interest, Record Store Day Leave a comment »Work is still progressing on my Queen book, and my focus still has shifted away from blogging for the time being (but, really, I do feel the urge to write non-Queen-related things every now and then, so I might be back for more in a bit), but I did want to pop in while I’m in the middle of some spring cleaning – including a welcome return to the design I once had; why mess with something that works? – and mention Record Store Day.
For anyone who’s been following this blog since I started it in September 2008, you’ll know that every time Record Store Day comes around, I have the best of intentions of supporting my local record store, but some financial tragedy always befalls me, and I need to make the difficult choice between purchasing a few records or eating that day. I don’t want to say whether or not I’ll be partaking this year, because that would just curse me, but I figured offering a pithy quote and a link to the PDF of what’s going to be available will suffice for now.
“The idea of, ‘The journey is the destination’ is put into action by browsing in an indie record store. Besides, a human being is a much better guide than a ‘More Like This’ link on the internet.”
– Patton Oswalt
See you all on April 16th.
Deadlines Go Whoosh – For Real, This Time
Posted: 03.10.2011 Filed under: 2011, and so on, announcement, apologia, obituary, of interest, Queen, Queen + Paul Rodgers, self-indulgence, writing endeavors Leave a comment »As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, my non-Sound Round writing endeavors have been increasing steadily over the past few months, and while that was simply down to personal aspirations and goals established either based on conversations with friends or completely arbitrarily, things have just gotten real.
Back in 2007, I published a book called Queen: Complete Works, which sold well but wasn’t promoted all that much. Frankly, I was glad, because while I’m extraordinarily proud of the fact that one of my dreams came true, it was an exhausting process and the last thing I ever wanted to do was to write another book. Of course, that’s changed, and all I want to do nowadays is write; I suppose I figured that if the book wasn’t a success, I wouldn’t have to put myself through that process again. But then, after awhile, I realized I actually missed that process, and so went on to subject myself to more torture by working steadily on a similar book on Elvis Costello’s music.
And so things puttered along nicely, and I genuinely believed that my first book would remain a true rarity, never to be reprinted, until earlier this week. This year is Queen’s 40th anniversary, and also marks 20 years since Freddie Mercury departed this mortal coil, and, sensing a golden opportunity, the publishing company I’m working with now contacted me to announce their intent to run a second edition of Queen: Complete Works. This is especially exciting to me, because this is a new (to me) company and a fresh start with a book that is in dire need of an update.
What does this mean for me? Well, I have a tight deadline to work with again, and the fire has been lit under my ass; I have four months to get this presentable and ready to go, meaning a lot of other hobbies have to take a backseat. This, unfortunately, includes my blogging activities, and, because Sound Round gets most of my attention these days, it also means I’ll now be paying the least amount of attention to it. (Reason being is, I’m already writing extensively about music, so any other blogs I may have will be a nice distraction from that.)
This means I’m leaving several projects in the lurch, most importantly the continuation of my Best of 2010 list, but also concert reviews for the Dum Dum Girls show I saw last weekend, and upcoming concerts for the Pains of Being Pure at Heart (March 31st), Elvis Costello (May 19th), and possibly Weezer (May 20th). I’m trying to get my girlfriend to write these reviews for me, but she has so far been reluctant to do so. (Don’t worry, I’ll work on her.)
But don’t cry for Sound Round, faithful viewers, for it will be back – all in good time. For now, I wish you a fond farewell.
Wave A White Flag
Posted: 12.10.2010 Filed under: 2010, and so on, announcement, apologia, Elvis Costello, of interest, self-indulgence, something completely different, writing endeavors Leave a comment »Unsurprisingly, as I worked more and more on my book, I realized that my finish date of December 15th was far too ambitious. Well, it could have worked, but it would have meant no sleep and no social life for a month, and I would have been alright with that too, except I have, y’know, a job. But I found myself rushing through entries just because I wanted to get something done, which really isn’t the way to work. I’d rather miss my (arbitrary and self-imposed) deadline and have something of quality instead of try to get everything done in a mad panic, and have the quality slip.
So yeah, that whole December 15th thing isn’t gonna happen.
HOWEVER, I have a new, more realistic finish date for my book, which is February 13th, 2011. That gives me two months to work at my leisure, and maybe even write an album review or two in the meantime. But I make no promises!
American Ransom Time: New Elvis Costello Album Announced
Posted: 05.25.2010 Filed under: 2010, announcement, Elvis Costello, new release, of interest 1 Comment »While the rest of the world focuses on Elvis’s July concert in Israel, and his recent decision to cancel, I myself found myself more interested in this announcement, which seems to have not attracted as much attention (who knew that a controversial decision to play, and then another far more controversial decision to not play, in a controversial territory would make waves?):
Elvis Costello is set to return October 5 with the new album American Ransom, his second studio project for the Concord/Hear Music label and first since last summer’s Americana-flavored, Nashville-recorded album Secret Profane and Sugarcane.
Considering the songs he’s been playing on his most recent tours (fourteen new compositions in the past year and change), it appears that this will be a really great album. Plus, there are rumors that the backing band will be a hybrid of the Sugarcanes and the Imposters, which is pretty exciting to me.
I’m not one to wish my way through summer, but it needs to be October 5th, NOW.
Also, American Ransom is just an awesomely bad-ass album name, that reminds me of Johnny Cash.
I Pledge A Few Bucks To Pancake Breakfast…
Posted: 05.19.2010 Filed under: 2010, and so on, announcement, new release, of interest, Pancake Breakfast, something completely different, supergroup Leave a comment »Alright, so I’ve been in hiding/working on other projects for the past month or so, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been listening to music. Quite the contrary; I’ve been listening to a ton of great music, and I’m working on a ton of reviews. (Sort of.) When will I get around to throwing those reviews onto this site? All in good time, mes amis, all in good time.
In the meantime, I want to devote a quick post to a band called Pancake Breakfast, a pretty awesome good-time folk/anything goes neuftet from Portland, Oregon, who’s currently in the process of recording their first album. What’s even better about this is that one of its members is friend Stephanie Lawson, born out near me in good ol’ southeastern PA. They’ve recently started a pledge to secure funding for their debut album, with a goal of $6,000 by August 3rd; as of today, they’re well over their goal, so good on them! But a little extra money certainly doesn’t hurt, so go on over to their official website, listen to some of their tracks, watch some of their videos, be charmed by their personality and down-home, fun-loving vibe, then head over to the pledge site and pre-order the album.
Who knows – if it’s released by the end of the year, it might even end up on my best-of 2010 list. That’s when they’ll know for sure that they’ve made it!
The Low Anthem Evolving: Follow-Up To “Oh My God, Charlie Darwin” Announced… Sort Of
Posted: 03.30.2010 Filed under: and so on, announcement, new release, The Low Anthem Leave a comment »One of my many happy musical discoveries of last year was the Low Anthem, who opened for Ray LaMontagne at the April 2009 show just outside Indiana, Pennsylvania. Regular readers will remember that I was positively thrilled with their Oh My God, Charlie Darwin album, so imagine my delight when I found out that they’re working on a new album. I read the news on Paste magazine’s site, which linked to a more definitive account from the TwentyFourBit Tumblr, and it’s that report which I’ll include below:
Last Friday night, I had the pleasure of attending The Low Anthem’s concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, featuring support by Timber Timbre and the Barr Brothers. It was a perfectly booked show, to say the least, as I felt quite at home among the “sad songs make me happy” crowd (My pair of “dancing shoes” are at the cobbler’s, FYI). ‘Twas a fun time personally, but here’s some good news for Low Anthem fans all over: they have a new record in the can.
The to-be-named/announced/released album hasn’t been mixed, mastered, or manhandled by the suits, but — as Ben Knox Miller told the crowd — it’s been put to tape and will include the song “Apothecary,” which we loved when performed on a recent Take Away Show at Grand Central in NYC. This record will mark their follow-up to last year’s breakthrough, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin.
I’m pretty excited about this. Having already had the pleasure of being enamored with OK Go’s Of The Colour Of The Blue Sky, Joanna Newsom’s Have One On Me, and She & Him’s Volume Two, it’s looking like 2010 is going to be ripe with brilliant albums.
Maybe someday I’ll actually review some of them!
So This Is The New Year…
Posted: 01.02.2010 Filed under: and so on, anniversary, announcement, of interest, something completely different Leave a comment »I forget if it’s popular to like or dislike Death Cab For Cutie, but I like how this song nicely captures the “out with the old, in with the new” attitude of December 31st. As someone who had a less than pleasant 2009, and celebrated accordingly yesterday with a ritualistic “fuck you” to all of the bad things that happened (it involved a very good friend, fire, and catharsis), I offer to you – and myself, and anyone else who looks upon the first few days of January with unbridled optimism – the best of luck this upcoming year, and may you be absolutely drenched with happiness and joy and all that good stuff.
In Sound Round-related news, I’m still working on a few reviews leftover from last year; with any luck, I’ll get those finished up and published in the next few weeks. My 2010 resolution is to stay a little more on top of things than I did last year, but otherwise, you can expect about the same from me!
Musicians In Print: A Photo Flashback
Posted: 11.07.2009 Filed under: 2009, and so on, announcement, Jeff Beck, Little Feat, of interest, something completely different, various artists, Warren Zevon Leave a comment »Breaking radio silence temporarily, but I was asked by my father to do a light bit of promotion for his joint photo gallery presentation, Musicians In Print: A Photo Flashback Documented by Beth Trepper and Georg W. Purvis III, to be held at the Tyme Gallery in Havertown, PA. The opening reception is on November 13 (less than a week from today), and runs until December 8, 2009.
The photos were taken by my father in the ’70s and ’80s, and may have been done so less out of artistic desire and more as a reminder to what actually happened. (Obligatory “If you remember the ’70s, you weren’t really there” joke.) Some of the bands and musicians include Little Feat, KISS, Rory Gallagher, Jeff Beck, Jackson Browne, Renaissance, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Warren Zevon, Robert Palmer… the list goes on.
Here are a few websites to check out for more information:
Georg W Purvis III Photography
And here’s all the information from the back of the invite, in case you didn’t get it:
Tyme Gallery
17 W. Eagle Road
Havertown, PA 19083
610-853-1215
Tyme Gallery Proudly Presents:
Musicians In Print: A Photo Flashback Documented by Beth Trepper and Georg W Purvis III
Opening Reception:
Friday, November 13, 2009
5 00pm – 9 00pm
Exhibition Dates:
November 13 – December 8, 2009
Framed prints, matted prints, gift cards, and books of this exhibit will be available for purchase, just in tyme for Christmas.
Sound Round goes bye-bye
Posted: 10.31.2009 Filed under: and so on, announcement, obituary, of interest, something completely different 2 Comments »Greetings, readers. You may have noticed I have been writing far less in this blog, and that is entirely the fault of a crazy little thing called work. I have about a dozen started drafts just waiting to be finished, but I’m going to abandon them and close down Sound Round.
But wait! There is a consolation.
This is only temporary, as I have decided to partake in something called NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, where aspiring writers take the month of November to write a 50,000 word novel.
That’s only 1,666.67 words a day. I figure I can handle that.
We’ll see if this ever gets off the ground; as a wannabe novelist, the prospect of writing a novel in a month is pretty exciting. Maybe I’ll get through the first day and realize what a mistake it is, or I’ll discover that I’m not much of a writer and get so frustrated that I become unmoored from reality forever, spending the rest of my days wandering in a state of delusion – even more so than I already do. Or maybe my novel will be such a hit that I become the Next Big Thing, appearing on talk shows and cutting ribbons and opening ceremonies, throwing out first pitches, that kinda thing.
Or maybe I’ll just take it for what it is: a bit of fun and a chance to extend myself as a writer. Yeah, I think I’ll go with that.
So from November 1st to the 30th, Sound Round will not exist as I immerse myself in this writing project.
Have a good month, and when I return, I’ll be ready and raring to go with even more album reviews for your pleasure.
