Vinyl Re-Up: November (again)

Definitely wasn’t expecting to do another one of these this month. Living in the city and being broke and all I probably shouldn’t be here doing this right now. But here we are. I have no discipline when it comes to this shit. Anyways I found some great stuff and I love talking about it, so here’s some more albums to check out.

P.S. If you haven't been to Stranded Records SF in the Mission district, GET THERE! They have such a killer selection, some great prices on used vinyl, and everyone that works there is so nice and fun to talk to. A must stop record shop if you're ever in the city. Make sure to check it out!

Blur: The Great Escape

I bet you’re probably pretty annoyed right now if you read my last Vinyl Re-Up. I swear I’ve never seen a Blur studio album in a record store in my 6 or so years of collecting vinyls until this year. I think maybe with their new album that just dropped (The Ballad of Darren, it’s great check it out!) there’s a little more Blur hype developing in the states, which is frankly long overdue. It’s really dope to see them in record stores more. They are a killer band, and honestly I would consider The Great Escape one of their finest creations. The way their previous album Parklife is a commentary on the British working class, The Great Escape is a commentary on the British upper class that creates a vibe so well while staying really eclectic across the tracklist. The album paints a really snarky and isolated picture of fame and wealth through a lens of alternative, orchestral, punky, and jazzy Britpop magic. Some of my favorites include He Thought of Cars, Fade Away, and Globe Alone. Check it out if you haven’t!

The Beatles: Revolver

I probably don’t need to introduce anybody to this album. It’s an absolute classic. This album is a major one in the Beatles catalog. It marks the beginning of my favorite Beatles era. They began doing all the crazy stuff on this one. It’s so crazy it led to their live performance retirement. There could be no Sgt. Pepper without the wonderful Revolver. To be honest, I haven’t really listened to this album in a couple of years and my familiarity with it is a bit limited. I’m really excited to go through it again, it feels like a good time to come back to the Beatles for me. I’m not even sure why. And this album has very few extremely overplayed songs on it which would make it a great one for me to listen to. Also I grabbed a used older pressing, which I always prefer for classic rock records. All in all, very excited to listen!

Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly

So stoked about this one. Sooooooo stoked. I found it for $25. I have never seen it for less than $35. I feel like I won the lottery. This is another artist/album that needs no introduction. Kendrick is likely the true best rapper of all time, and probably the best lyricist of all time for any genre of music. Up there with Bob Dylan. He’s just such a modest rapper with so much to say. I literally learned about racism as a kid from listening to good kid, m.A.A.D city, and I think there’s probably a lot of people who grew up around the same time that had a similar experience. I loved that album so much that I didn’t really appreciate his big left turn on To Pimp a Butterfly at the time it dropped. It was only within the last two years that I really got into this album, and it feels like I’ve lost so many years with a loved one. This is likely the most cinematic album ever. And it picks up where good kid, m.A.A.d city left off super well. Honestly one of the boldest follow up albums the world has seen since Kid A. Check it out if you haven’t, but hell, you probably have. 

Animal Collective: Centipede Hz

Finally! An album that could use an introduction! This isn’t really the most popular Animal Collective album. I don’t think it really got much love from the fans or critics when it dropped. It’d be fun to ask our Animal Collective expert Calvin his opinions on the album. It is kind of considered by some the end of their major streak that started with Sung Tongs in 2004. Honestly, I think this album is pretty dope. I definitely see what people don’t like about it. But there’s a lot of great tracks on it, and the more I listen to it the more songs I start to love. It feels like a merrying of styles between Strawberry Jam and Merriweather Post Pavilion in that it takes the youthful manic energy of the former and blends it with the more electronic instrumentation of the latter. The highs are really high on this record, with super weird crazy electronic instrumentation and manic Avey Tare vocals that could stand up to my favorites from their whole catalog. Monkey Riches, Moonjock, and Rosie Oh are my favorites from the record. Check it out!