2019-02-27

Vinyl Review: Opus Science Collective - Girls On Bikes (Sofa King Vinyl)

Opus Science Collective
Album: Girls On Bikes (2018)
Sofa King Vinyl SKV-1004-2
Release Date: October 12, 2018

I have to admit until I received this album from Sofa King Vinyl, I had never heard of Opus Science Collective.  Synthwave or Vaporwave music isn't typically something I listen to.  It isn't because I don't like the genre, but I just don't typically think to look for music from that genre.  I was approached by Sofa King Vinyl about my willingness to listen to and give my thoughts on a couple of their releases.  After picking myself up off the floor, I graciously accepted.  Sofa King Vinyl was generous enough to send me two albums they recently put out to review.  I made sure not to listen to either album before the vinyl came so I had a clean slate to go off once it arrived.  So let's get into my thoughts on Opus Science Collective's Girls On Bikes from Sofa King Vinyl.

2019-02-22

Vinyl Review: Prince Reissues by the Prince Estate

The Prince Estate has been pretty busy lately keeping the legacy of Prince alive and well. They recently put out three of Prince's 2000 era albums, Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth. Check out my review of the album packaging and more below.

 

2019-02-16

Vinyl Collection - AC/DC The Razors Edge

My copy of AC/DC's The Razors Edge getting some play
As I mentioned in a previous blog, the summer between my sixth and seventh grades was a pivotal time for my musical tastes.  Before then I was listening to pop/top 40 music mostly, and I still love those same artists today.  But that summer, my musical scope was broadened to include heavier things.  Things I never would have thought to listen to before.  I spoke earlier about how I became a Poison fan that summer, and now I will tell you how I became an even bigger AC/DC fan that summer.

It all happened on that same basketball court, with those same friends, and that same boombox.  While my buddy Mark had brought along the Poison record that would make me a lifelong fan, my buddy Nate brought along an album unlike anything I had heard before; The Razors Edge by AC/DC.  From the opening riff of "Thunderstruck" to the bellow of Brian Johnson's opening lines, all I could think was "what in the world is this?" The energy was insane.  The songs were heavy and hard-hitting.  The singer was, well I didn't know what he was, but I liked it! Shortly after this day, I received a dubbed copy of the said album on one side of the tape and a copy of Back in Black on the other side.  I was transfixed on what I was hearing.  What my parents called screaming, I called amazing.

2019-02-09

Vinyl Collection - Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion

The early 90s were pivotal years in the shaping of my musical tastes.  I've talked about the fact that Poison and AC/DC were my introductions to things a little heavier than I was used to.  Those two albums opened a whole new world of music for me.  Another big part of my musical taste development was my friends.  As middle school started transitioning to high school, I found myself listening to a lot of new bands.  Firehouse, Damn Yankees, Cinderella, and Bon Jovi were all my favorites, but two more bands would suddenly eclipse the rest.  Those two bands were Metallica and Guns N' Roses.

As the fall of 1991 was approaching, I was entering eighth grade and rediscovering my love for playing guitar.  That is also when two of the biggest albums of the 90s heavy metal world where just being released.  Guns N' Roses were coming off the massive success of their Appetite for Destruction album and the follow-up Lies EP when they unleashed not one but two albums on the world.  Titled Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, Guns N' Roses slapped the music world with thirty tracks all at once.  When the album was initially released I was not yet aware of who Guns N' Roses were apart from "Sweet Child 'O Mine" which was a song almost everyone knew and a massive hit.  They were not even on my radar, and wouldn't be yet for another year or so when I started playing guitar again with my friends.

2019-02-01

Vinyl Review: Metallica - Helping Hands... Live & Acoustic at The Masonic

They are hailed as thrash metal icons by many, heavy metal heroes by others, but today they can add acoustic masters to the list.  A quarter of a century after the dawn of the MTV Unplugged craze, Metallica has joined the fray... well sort of.  While it isn't MTV Unplugged, Metallica's latest release is unplugged, all acoustic concert put on to raise money for All Within My Hands Foundation which was set up by the band in February of 2017 to help communities in need.

The benefit show took place on November 3rd at the Masonic in San Francisco, California in conjunction with an auction, and raised 1.3 million dollars for Feeding America and the American Association of Community Colleges.  It was announced the show would be released as a double LP in February 2019 with the money received from sales of the album (also available digitally and via streaming services) going directly to the foundation.  The album was sold via Metallica's website and was made available to independent record stores on vinyl.