Okkervil River "The Stand Ins"

Okkervil River is one of the great critically applauded yet largely unheralded bands of the "aughties" (If you've come up with a better term for the decade of the 00's, lemme know). Their big break through after a couple of records released was the concept record, "Black_Sheep_Boy". It's a powerful collection of songs primarily penned by front man Will Sheff. Sheff is, arguably, one of the great songwriters of this decade and it's criminal he doesn't receive more praise outside of indie music circles. Here is a video off of Black Sheep Boy, the powerful "For Real". If you like this, watch a live recording of it as well.

Okkervil River's next two records were almost companion pieces, "The_Stage_Names" and "The-Stand Ins in that they had similar loosely-based themes on the music industry. "The Stage Names" was originally conceived to be a double-album but instead released as two separate records. Look for "The Plus Ones" with several pop culture references with a "plus one" added, such as, "Eight Chinese Bros", "Nine Miles High", and the "51st Way to Leave Your Lover". And of course, as most rock show attendees can attest who have been added to a guest list, you are a "plus one". Check it out, Will Sheff solo.

And with their latest release on Jagjaguwar label, The Stand Ins, Okkervil River continues on with these themes with songs like "On Tour With Zykos", "Singer Songwriter" and this catchy little gem titled "Lost Coastlines". The band also recorded several youtube videos of bands they've toured with covering songs from "The Stand Ins" as a promotional tool for the record.

Here is one last video, "Lost Coastlines" from Okkervil River. "The Stand Ins" is in stock and available at Rediscover Records.

I hate the F***ing Eagles

For better or worse, (umm worse in most circumstances) we have plenty of The Eagles music in stock at Rediscover Records. This great snippet is one of Jeff Bridges finest hours (but if you ask this author, he'll tell you "The Fisher King") in "The Big Lewbowski". If you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and add it to your queue for your next film fest. If you have seen it, watch it again, but you don't need me to tell you that.

Paul was in a band before Wings? Huh?

This is the first of, hopefully, many blog entries regarding all things music on behalf of Rediscover Records. Tonight, we are going on a bit of a limb here, putting whatever musical cred on the line in discussing the music of Paul_McCartney, Sir Paul, or Macca, if you will. Did you know that he was indeed in a band before he assembled Paul McCartney and Wings in the early 1970's?

It was hard not to hear McCartney and Wings songs in the early to mid-1970's on the ol A.M. radio dial. They put together a string of hits that even decent hit makers of any era would covet. Thus if you are a person a of a certain age, you may really *not* have known that McCartney was in a band before Wings. The pinnacle of his solo career may have come with the release of the record "Band on the Run" in 1973. This led to a string of decent, but sometimes spotty records that included "Red Rose Speedway", "Venus and Mars", and "Wings At the Speed of Sound". Prior to "Band on the Run" McCartney released his first solo record "McCartney" with arguably one of the great love songs of all time, "Maybe I'm Amazed" and the very overlooked album "Ram", to name a couple. With the release of "Venus and Mars" and "Speed" McCartney toured the United States for the first time since he was in that other band in 1966. Here's a video of Venus and Mars/Rock Show. "It looks a lot like the one used by Jimmy Page!"

My own first record bought with my own money was a copy of "Wings Greatest" at a little record shop in Sycamore, Illinois. It was like an appliance center/slash music store. It was only the beginning of my musical sojourn that has taken me to many places that may or may not be discussed here on this blog, or in person, if you stop into Redisocover Records.

There's a lot of things you can say about McCartney but one thing he seems pretty decent at is surrounding himself with a good band. That "other band" withstanding, the Wings line-ups he assembled included (former Moody Blues) Denny Laine, Joe English, Steve Holly, Lawrence Juber, Jimmy McColluch, as well as, the much maligned Linda McCartney. In the late 80's and early 90's his band included Paul "Wix" Wickens and former Pretenders guitarist Robbie_McIntosh. McCartney still tours and his current touring band is very solid. The list of other artists he's worked with reads like a "who's who" of musicians, much too long for one blog entry.

Even as a McCartney apologist, I've had trouble following his career post the 1980 release "McCartney II". "Tug of War" in 1982 had some redeeming qualities but soon after that he was giving his regards to Broadstreet and doing duets with Micheal Jackson. What was he going to do next, offer Jackson the rights to his other bands songs? Hey, wait a minute . . . Two later releases got my attention in the 1990's, the rockin record of covers, "Run Devil Run" and "Flaming Pie", which as you listen to it now, really sounds like a farewell to his beloved wife, Linda.

There's been times when I think of McCartney and can only think, "Oh how the mighty have fallen" and then I'll put on one of those early Wings records and I'm brought right back to those A.M. hits of the 1970's and going to that little record store in Sycamore to buy that *one* record...

However, for my (first) record buying money and for a good pop song on the radio in the 1970's it was hard to top McCartney and Wings. So if you were 9 or 10 years old in 1976, you were too young to remember The Beatles but heard all those Wings records you may have asked your parents one day, "You mean Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?"

now playing as we write: "McCartney"

Rediscover Records In the News

With gratitude and a special thanks to the Elgin Courier News as well as crack staff reporter, Mike Danahey, and Annie_Leibovitz of Elgin, Mike Smart, Rediscover Records was in the news. "Now, we've hit the big time in the USA" Thanks so much for the pub, the press, and the spreading of good musical chairs, err, cheer.

Here is the link: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/2466870,3_1_EL06_RECORDS_S1-100706.article#Comments_Container

Look for Rediscover Records to be spinning their special brand of vinyl this Thursday at the Elgin Harvest market from 11am-1pm

Remember, keep 'em spinning with Rediscover Records!

Now playing as we blog: A.A. Bondy "When the Devil's Loose"