A.V. Club Blog

This is the second in what I hope will be a fairly extensive series highlighting some of the terrific performances by old-school blues musicians that can be found online, begun last week with Sister Rosetta. This week, here’s a few songs by Nehemiah “Skip” James, whose high-pitched, haunting vocals are one of the most distinctive in the genre.

Born in 1902 in Bentonia, Mississippi, James’ recording career is remarkably sparse even for such an often poorly documented genre as Delta blues. He recorded just a handful of songs in 1931, of which only 18 have survived; with the Great Depression at its height, none sold well, and James quit the blues to join his minister father (who, like his son, was a former bootlegger) in the church. Three decades later, he was rediscovered as the folk/blues revival of the early 1960s was beginning, and was among the 1930s-era musicians to perform at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, which is where this performance of his classic “Devil Got My Woman” was filmed:

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In Vinyl Retentive, A.V. Clubbers share what we find while crate-digging in our own houses.

Deep Purple

Deep Purple In Rock

Warner Bros., 1970

Format: LP

File Under: Bulldozing proto-metal

Key track: “Bloodsucker”

There are a hundred bands that might’ve served as the primary inspiration for Spinal Tap—but that dubious honor pretty much goes to Deep Purple. Instead of descending from...

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Christie Front Drive

Self-titled 7”

Freewill Records, 1994

Format: 7-inch

File under: The rising tide of second-wave emo

Related artists: Jimmy Eat World, The Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate, Texas Is The Reason, Mineral

Back when Christie Front Drive started playing around its hometown of Denver in 1993, the world at large was blessedly free from the word “emo,” much less the scourge of saccharine bands that have since descended like Auto-Tuned locusts. The label never meant much to the groups saddled with it, especially Christie Front Drive, whom history has regarded as one of the genre’s touchstone bands.

Perhaps to the chagrin of everyone involved, history is correct. Although the four ex-members of Christie Front Drive can take solace in that there is definitely not a straight line descending from them to the dregs of Boys Like Girls (or even Fall Out Boy for that matter). Chances are 99 percent of the Warped Tour set would assume “Christie... read more

Let’s address one of the more troubling concepts that regularly come up in music discussions, “sincerity.” Putting “sincerity” in quotes is sort of oxymoronic, I know, but I just don’t know what “sincerity” is supposed to mean. Does being sincere mean that you “believe” or “feel” what you’re singing? Does it mean that what you’re singing reflects your personal experience? And if these things are true, does that mean that your song “means” more than a song coming from an “insincere” person? And what does “meaning more” mean anyway? Isn’t it enough just to have good songs?

I realize I’ve already put most of you to sleep. But I’ve been wondering how these questions apply to Ryan Adams, who lately has been busy, once again, sharing way too much about himself on his blog. (Which, sadly, is down at the moment, though you can read some of the gory details read more

Cue the miniature Stonehenge and dancing little people. Nineteen years later, that heavy-metal Grammy continues to make sense.

Ostensibly, I shouldn’t be here. For as much shit as I’ve talked about Kanye West—his typically awkward, often painfully clunky lyrics; his prefabricated, presumptive cult of personality; his off-putting and petulant demand for the spotlight—I’m probably the last person who should be taking up these damn good seats when so many “true fans” are banished to the rafters here at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center. But because I know people who know people (thanks Jennifer!), I’m eye-level with the rap world’s premier egoist, bathed in the multimillionaire glare of his retina-scorching Glow In The Dark Tour. And God damn it, I’m having a Road To Damascus moment with this self-proclaimed Christ figure I’ve already denied three times and more.

Don’t worry: I’m not here to preach the gospel. There’s still plenty to snark about when it comes to Kanye, and I’ll get to that in a moment. But much... read more

Among its other fine qualities, YouTube has been a gold mine for people who, like me, love finding gems of yesterday's pop culture. I'm a particular fan of vintage blues songs (1960s and earlier), and after spending some time surfing around what's available online I've decided to start a weekly showcase of some of my favorites. Starting things off: Gospel great Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the early masters of the electric guitar, kicking enormous amounts of ass on "Down By The Riverside."

Fans of the movie Amelie might also remember seeing a snippet of the following song, "Up Above My Head."

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In Vinyl Retentive, A.V. Clubbers share what we find while crate-digging in our own houses.

Miriam Makeba

“Pata Pata” b/w “The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men”

Reprise, 1967

Format: 7-inch single

File Under: Afropop anthem

Key track: “Pata Pata”

You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs—and you can’t make Vinyl Retentive without breaking a few records:

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In Vinyl Retentive, A.V. Clubbers share what we find while crate-digging in our own houses.

Madness

Complete Madness

Stiff/Virgin, 1982

Format: LP

File Under: Deceptively nutty pop genius

Key track: “Shut Up”

We all discover bands in different ways—the radio, a video, a stream, a show, a (cough) blog, a recommendation from a friend. But sometimes it’s just blind, dumb luck. Case in point: Many years ago I bought...

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I’m not sure about your hometown, but here in Denver, '08 just graced us with its first blush of glorious, summer-like, near-80-degree weather on Monday and Tuesday. (Of course, it’s in the 40s with a chance of snow as I write this on Wednesday, but whatever.) Inspired by Nathan Rabin’s mixtape rundown, I’ve decided to gather a few awesomely summery (at least to me) songs into a hypothetical mixtape—the kind that used to be a tradition for me back when mixtapes were a vital part of the hipster mating ritual. Yeah, I said hypothetical: You didn’t think I was actually gonna give you a real tape, did you? (Wait, are you hot?) And so, without further ado, here are ten of my favorite sweet, sweaty jams—perfect for listening to while walking around in the sun, while lounging on the patio in the sun, while sitting in traffic in the sun, and while cursing the goddamn relentless fucking sun in cranky anticipation of autumn (which I’m sure I’ll be doing by, oh, the end of next week).

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