yellowman vs will sweeney
the cover of yellowman's reggae classic "operation radication" (1984)
vs
will sweeney silk screen print "attack on rastapopolis" (2007)
note the resemblence of the little fry soldiers in the corner of will's print to that of the yellow men on the cover of operation radication. amazing coincidence? you be the judge.
posted by NATE at 2:57 PM
1 comments
the cover of yellowman's reggae classic "operation radication" (1984)
vs
will sweeney silk screen print "attack on rastapopolis" (2007)
note the resemblence of the little fry soldiers in the corner of will's print to that of the yellow men on the cover of operation radication. amazing coincidence? you be the judge.
posted by NATE at 2:57 PM
1 comments
Trunk Records.
So a good friend of the store, Jeff, recently told me about Trunk Records. Trunk are a small label (each album has a pressing of 500) run by one guy in England, Johnny Trunk. Jeff thought it might be something for us to carry in the store as it's not widely available here. I was pretty excited when I saw the site as besides being records of things I have never heard of even existing (incidental music to Dawn of the Dead!?), the packaging for all these are beautiful and it's all focused on mid sixities to mid seventies oddities like obscure film scores, commercial jingles, obscure english jazz, children's folk music, and unknown composers. I suppose vinyl hounds know about all this stuff, but for everyone else, trunk's catalogue is a minor revelation putting 
back into print truly great music. The Trunk Records site is also great in that way that you hope all personal businesses are great by being totally idiosyncratic and weird with their owner's obsessions overriding the need to SELL products. A section on nude cook books! Why? I guess the same reason there are sections and links to seventies interior design (dont be surprised when my next 30 comics all take place in manchester living rooms in 1976), record bin recommendations, and long rambling stream of conscious essays on where he found the original recordings, what he had for breakfast that day and why english bums are beautiful. Because Johnny Trunk is an odd duck.
So the stuff (what wasn't already sold out) finally arrived and I got chance to actual listen to it and its as good as one could hope. Every album is something I would never get the chance to hear otherwise on my own and more importantly really really good. The sort of interesting stuff that you can get insane about. One record in particular, Fuzzy Felt Folk, has been on rotation in the studio and at home everyday for the last month.
What is Fuzzy Felt Folk? Well in johnny's own words from the linear notes:
Hello and welcome to an explanation of Fuzzy-Felt Folk. This peculiar genre of sound came in to being one afternoon a few years ago when I was listening to kooky, childish records with fellow collector Martin Green. He played me the recording he'd found of "The Elf" which I found extremely charming, and when we tried to put our finger on exactly the sort of sound it was, Martin said 'Fuzzy-Felt Folk". It's a phrase that has stayed with me ever since and perfectly explains this quite wonderful area of sound.
The music has to have a childish, sweet sound but at the same time can have an old fashioned, spooky edge. This is music you may well have heard growing up and that also sound relevant and fine right now. These are the kind of gentle sounds you could (and possibly should) play to your children today. The tracks compiled on this album are quite something - we go from rare unreleased soundtrack demos to naive experimental psychedelia and even some rare music from seminal arts and craft-based TV series "Vision On" There is music made for dancing, skipping and dreaming. And of course for prancing around old school assembly halls acting like a tree.
Sounds great doesn't it? All the songs on this have that great thing of the best pop music-it sounds totally fun and pretty, with things like lush string sections, soft teenage girl voices, wazoo bands, deep english voices singing songs about Robin Hood and trolls which is all great, but with this deep undercurrent of sadness and longing (and a bit of nostalgia too) that takes it from being a fun novelty comp to something really memorable. It's the kind of thing that when people come into the room when its on, they comment on it, sorta make fun of it for sounding so NOT like anything and then ask me to burn a copy for them.
An excellent record that I can't recommend enough and now, I am proud to report, available online, on CD only.
The vinyl, like the rest of the Trunk catalogue, sold out as soon as it was released (becoming highly sought after ebay items). But Family has vinyl of the most recent releases. All future stuff, like the Blood on Satan's Claw soundtrack (!), will be online as it's released.
P.S. if you want to get a better idea of all this music, check out the the new 10th anniversary Trunk CD which features stuff from many past and upcoming Trunk releases:
1) I Start Counting (Demo): Basil Kirchin - From Fuzzy Felt Folk
2) Dark World: Sven Libaek - From Inner Space, the lost film music of Sven Libaek
3) Kiddush: Herbie (unreleased!) - From the forthcoming album Hear, O Israel
4) Zeus: Jonny Trunk - from The Inside Outside
5) Delia`s Psychedelian Waltz: From The Tomorrow People
6) Icicles: Douglas Wood (unreleased!) From the forthcoming G Is For Groovy album
7) Clangers: Music (edit) - Vernon Elliott - From The Clangers TV soundtrack
8) Orriel Smith: Tiffany Glass - From Fuzzy Felt Folk
9) Timex: Mike Sammes - from Music For Biscuits
10) Nature Waltz: Sven Libaek, From Inner Space, the lost film music of Sven Libaek
11) Waiting For Nina: Paul Lewis (unreleased!) From the forthcoming G Is For Groovy
12) Kes - Front Titles: John Cameron - From Kes, the original soundtrack
13) Kathy Crowned: Marc Wilkinson (unreleased!) From the forthcoming Blood On Satan`s Claw soundtrack
14) Sketches Of Israel: Michael Garrick, from the album Moonscape
15) Martin`s Theme: Dirty Fan Male
16) My Special Message - Dirty Fan Male
17) Sweet Young Fumbles: Mike Sammes -from The album Music For Biscuits
18) The Elf: Barbara Moore Singers -from the album Fuzzy Felt Folk
19) Negatives: Basil Kirchin (unreleased!), from the estate of Basil Kirchin
20) The Ladies' Bras: Wisbey (unreleased!)
21) Hula Saw: Bill Posters Will Be Band (Live at The Bull in Barnes), from the Battle of Bosworth
22) Secret Track: My Darling Teresa (unreleased!)
posted by sammy at 12:36 AM
8 comments
So a good friend of the store, Jeff, recently told me about Trunk Records. Trunk are a small label (each album has a pressing of 500) run by one guy in England, Johnny Trunk. Jeff thought it might be something for us to carry in the store as it's not widely available here. I was pretty excited when I saw the site as besides being records of things I have never heard of even existing (incidental music to Dawn of the Dead!?), the packaging for all these are beautiful and it's all focused on mid sixities to mid seventies oddities like obscure film scores, commercial jingles, obscure english jazz, children's folk music, and unknown composers. I suppose vinyl hounds know about all this stuff, but for everyone else, trunk's catalogue is a minor revelation putting 
back into print truly great music. The Trunk Records site is also great in that way that you hope all personal businesses are great by being totally idiosyncratic and weird with their owner's obsessions overriding the need to SELL products. A section on nude cook books! Why? I guess the same reason there are sections and links to seventies interior design (dont be surprised when my next 30 comics all take place in manchester living rooms in 1976), record bin recommendations, and long rambling stream of conscious essays on where he found the original recordings, what he had for breakfast that day and why english bums are beautiful. Because Johnny Trunk is an odd duck. So the stuff (what wasn't already sold out) finally arrived and I got chance to actual listen to it and its as good as one could hope. Every album is something I would never get the chance to hear otherwise on my own and more importantly really really good. The sort of interesting stuff that you can get insane about. One record in particular, Fuzzy Felt Folk, has been on rotation in the studio and at home everyday for the last month.
What is Fuzzy Felt Folk? Well in johnny's own words from the linear notes:
Hello and welcome to an explanation of Fuzzy-Felt Folk. This peculiar genre of sound came in to being one afternoon a few years ago when I was listening to kooky, childish records with fellow collector Martin Green. He played me the recording he'd found of "The Elf" which I found extremely charming, and when we tried to put our finger on exactly the sort of sound it was, Martin said 'Fuzzy-Felt Folk". It's a phrase that has stayed with me ever since and perfectly explains this quite wonderful area of sound.
The music has to have a childish, sweet sound but at the same time can have an old fashioned, spooky edge. This is music you may well have heard growing up and that also sound relevant and fine right now. These are the kind of gentle sounds you could (and possibly should) play to your children today. The tracks compiled on this album are quite something - we go from rare unreleased soundtrack demos to naive experimental psychedelia and even some rare music from seminal arts and craft-based TV series "Vision On" There is music made for dancing, skipping and dreaming. And of course for prancing around old school assembly halls acting like a tree.Sounds great doesn't it? All the songs on this have that great thing of the best pop music-it sounds totally fun and pretty, with things like lush string sections, soft teenage girl voices, wazoo bands, deep english voices singing songs about Robin Hood and trolls which is all great, but with this deep undercurrent of sadness and longing (and a bit of nostalgia too) that takes it from being a fun novelty comp to something really memorable. It's the kind of thing that when people come into the room when its on, they comment on it, sorta make fun of it for sounding so NOT like anything and then ask me to burn a copy for them.
An excellent record that I can't recommend enough and now, I am proud to report, available online, on CD only.
The vinyl, like the rest of the Trunk catalogue, sold out as soon as it was released (becoming highly sought after ebay items). But Family has vinyl of the most recent releases. All future stuff, like the Blood on Satan's Claw soundtrack (!), will be online as it's released.
P.S. if you want to get a better idea of all this music, check out the the new 10th anniversary Trunk CD which features stuff from many past and upcoming Trunk releases:
1) I Start Counting (Demo): Basil Kirchin - From Fuzzy Felt Folk2) Dark World: Sven Libaek - From Inner Space, the lost film music of Sven Libaek
3) Kiddush: Herbie (unreleased!) - From the forthcoming album Hear, O Israel
4) Zeus: Jonny Trunk - from The Inside Outside
5) Delia`s Psychedelian Waltz: From The Tomorrow People
6) Icicles: Douglas Wood (unreleased!) From the forthcoming G Is For Groovy album
7) Clangers: Music (edit) - Vernon Elliott - From The Clangers TV soundtrack
8) Orriel Smith: Tiffany Glass - From Fuzzy Felt Folk
9) Timex: Mike Sammes - from Music For Biscuits
10) Nature Waltz: Sven Libaek, From Inner Space, the lost film music of Sven Libaek
11) Waiting For Nina: Paul Lewis (unreleased!) From the forthcoming G Is For Groovy
12) Kes - Front Titles: John Cameron - From Kes, the original soundtrack
13) Kathy Crowned: Marc Wilkinson (unreleased!) From the forthcoming Blood On Satan`s Claw soundtrack
14) Sketches Of Israel: Michael Garrick, from the album Moonscape
15) Martin`s Theme: Dirty Fan Male
16) My Special Message - Dirty Fan Male
17) Sweet Young Fumbles: Mike Sammes -from The album Music For Biscuits
18) The Elf: Barbara Moore Singers -from the album Fuzzy Felt Folk
19) Negatives: Basil Kirchin (unreleased!), from the estate of Basil Kirchin
20) The Ladies' Bras: Wisbey (unreleased!)
21) Hula Saw: Bill Posters Will Be Band (Live at The Bull in Barnes), from the Battle of Bosworth
22) Secret Track: My Darling Teresa (unreleased!)
posted by sammy at 12:36 AM
8 comments
A hell of a post
I wish someone did this sort if thing all the time.
posted by sammy at 3:09 PM
0 comments
I wish someone did this sort if thing all the time.
posted by sammy at 3:09 PM
0 comments
Aimee/Amy Reading
The second installment in our Trinie Dalton curated reading series:
Don't forget about the Mike Mills/Blonde Redhead premier on Thursday night. The plan is to set up five monitors with headphones around the shop, each looping a video. should be some good give aways and wine too!
posted by kramer at 12:46 PM
0 comments
The second installment in our Trinie Dalton curated reading series:
Don't forget about the Mike Mills/Blonde Redhead premier on Thursday night. The plan is to set up five monitors with headphones around the shop, each looping a video. should be some good give aways and wine too!
posted by kramer at 12:46 PM
0 comments
the sights and sounds of fairfax avenue (part 1)
As many of you know, the area of fairfax where Family is located is a burgeoning hotbed of shops, bars and eateries heavily populated at all times. I have, for your benefit, and to slightly humor myself, decided to give a run down of some of the spots surrounding Family.
1. Largo
Largo is the pub next door to us. If you've ever seen people lined up in front of Family, I hate to break it to you, but they aren't here to pick up the new Johnny Ryan comic or Paperrad dvd, rather they are all clamoring to get in to Largo for an evening of adult contemporary rock and a glass of chablis. Occasionally these people step out of line to stumble into the store, furrow their brows at the selection of materials, and then get back in line because at Largo its first come, first served.
2. Supreme
If you are not in the know, Supreme is a chain of skateboard shops, started on the east coast, with a bad reputation so unshakeable that not even members of AA would let them in. Supreme is located across the street from us and probably the most popular store on the block. At any hour of the day you can find a good 5-10 dudes hanging out in front, of course none of them work there, but you know, it's summer and jobs are for "adults." This is all to say that I have no beef with Supreme and the guys I have interacted with were nice and upstanding citizens of the block.
3. Damiano's Pizza
Ah the infamous Damiano's, home of New York style pizza, little to no lighting in the dining area (one votive candle per table to give you that "cave dining" experience) a tremendous turnover rate (I once ordered a slice of pizza from a guy, and he was fired by the time it came out of the oven!), and a big fat B in the window. I'm sure by now you've heard all the horror stories on this place, like the one about Christian Slater biting a guy's ear off in the back in the mid-90's, but tell me where else am I going to get a slice of pizza while I negotiate a guy on the phone about where to find the Constellation Jodorowsky documentary on the box set he just bought (he called back 10 minutes later to say it was on the Fando Y Lis disc) ? Face it, Damiano's has the market cornered, shimmering grade B and all!
4. Picanty
Picanty across the street is a market where you can buy anything from alcohol to kettle chips to sour punch straws (three for a quarter!), basically everything you need to get through a sixer (a six hour shift as it's known here) but the one kicker is the guy opens and closes the store whenever he pleases because HE KNOWS he has the market (pun intended) cornered. He's actually a really cool guy aside from the fact that he's probably asleep right now in his unabomber-style shack and I want a bag of cheddar beer potato chips.
Part 2 to follow...
posted by NATE at 12:59 PM
3 comments
As many of you know, the area of fairfax where Family is located is a burgeoning hotbed of shops, bars and eateries heavily populated at all times. I have, for your benefit, and to slightly humor myself, decided to give a run down of some of the spots surrounding Family.
1. Largo
Largo is the pub next door to us. If you've ever seen people lined up in front of Family, I hate to break it to you, but they aren't here to pick up the new Johnny Ryan comic or Paperrad dvd, rather they are all clamoring to get in to Largo for an evening of adult contemporary rock and a glass of chablis. Occasionally these people step out of line to stumble into the store, furrow their brows at the selection of materials, and then get back in line because at Largo its first come, first served.
2. Supreme
If you are not in the know, Supreme is a chain of skateboard shops, started on the east coast, with a bad reputation so unshakeable that not even members of AA would let them in. Supreme is located across the street from us and probably the most popular store on the block. At any hour of the day you can find a good 5-10 dudes hanging out in front, of course none of them work there, but you know, it's summer and jobs are for "adults." This is all to say that I have no beef with Supreme and the guys I have interacted with were nice and upstanding citizens of the block.
3. Damiano's Pizza
Ah the infamous Damiano's, home of New York style pizza, little to no lighting in the dining area (one votive candle per table to give you that "cave dining" experience) a tremendous turnover rate (I once ordered a slice of pizza from a guy, and he was fired by the time it came out of the oven!), and a big fat B in the window. I'm sure by now you've heard all the horror stories on this place, like the one about Christian Slater biting a guy's ear off in the back in the mid-90's, but tell me where else am I going to get a slice of pizza while I negotiate a guy on the phone about where to find the Constellation Jodorowsky documentary on the box set he just bought (he called back 10 minutes later to say it was on the Fando Y Lis disc) ? Face it, Damiano's has the market cornered, shimmering grade B and all!
4. Picanty
Picanty across the street is a market where you can buy anything from alcohol to kettle chips to sour punch straws (three for a quarter!), basically everything you need to get through a sixer (a six hour shift as it's known here) but the one kicker is the guy opens and closes the store whenever he pleases because HE KNOWS he has the market (pun intended) cornered. He's actually a really cool guy aside from the fact that he's probably asleep right now in his unabomber-style shack and I want a bag of cheddar beer potato chips.
Part 2 to follow...
posted by NATE at 12:59 PM
3 comments
Mike Mills Premier
The Directors Bureau and Family invites you to a special evening.
Poses
Emotions
Disasters At Sea
Burning Crosses
And Rainbows
Celebrating
Five Experimental Music Videos For
Blonde Redhead
By Mike Mills
Thursday July 19th 8PM
posted by sammy at 6:49 PM
0 comments
The Directors Bureau and Family invites you to a special evening.
Poses
Emotions
Disasters At Sea
Burning Crosses
And Rainbows
Celebrating
Five Experimental Music Videos For
Blonde Redhead
By Mike Mills
Thursday July 19th 8PM
posted by sammy at 6:49 PM
0 comments
i love ny (no homo)
i have just returned home from new york to find my bag got lost along the way so i can't use my phone or shave for a few days. other than that i had an amazing time that can only be summed up in this photo:
(guess all three and win a prize)
oh and my store picks for this week are the new bill callahan lp, and how bluegrass music destroyed my life by john fahey. here's one of my favorites from the callahan record:
diamonddancer.mp3
posted by NATE at 1:41 PM
0 comments
i have just returned home from new york to find my bag got lost along the way so i can't use my phone or shave for a few days. other than that i had an amazing time that can only be summed up in this photo:
(guess all three and win a prize)
oh and my store picks for this week are the new bill callahan lp, and how bluegrass music destroyed my life by john fahey. here's one of my favorites from the callahan record:
diamonddancer.mp3
posted by NATE at 1:41 PM
0 comments
Cinefile
It took my friend Milo blogging on the east coast to inform me about this amazing mp3 posted just down the street by Family's good friends Cinefile-a really funny and sort of mind boggling Mike Hodges commentary track for Flash Gordon only available on the UK dvd.
Cinefile is one of the best video stores in the country, one of those great places where a certain inspired aesthetic and nerdiness dictates everything. Therefore sections are not only broken up by director and genre(and sub genres like heists, bikers, zombies and time travel) , but also such sub-sub-genres as 'Pregnant Men', 'actors are retarded' 'Holy Fucking Shit', and 'Shade Tilting' (doc hollywood anyone?) and no Henry Jaglom. a great bootleg section, DJ night, and a free rentals section. One of the best shops in LA. The Cinefile and Family gangs are actually working together as a third gang for some cool upcoming projects. Stay Tuned.
posted by sammy at 1:40 PM
0 comments
It took my friend Milo blogging on the east coast to inform me about this amazing mp3 posted just down the street by Family's good friends Cinefile-a really funny and sort of mind boggling Mike Hodges commentary track for Flash Gordon only available on the UK dvd.
Cinefile is one of the best video stores in the country, one of those great places where a certain inspired aesthetic and nerdiness dictates everything. Therefore sections are not only broken up by director and genre(and sub genres like heists, bikers, zombies and time travel) , but also such sub-sub-genres as 'Pregnant Men', 'actors are retarded' 'Holy Fucking Shit', and 'Shade Tilting' (doc hollywood anyone?) and no Henry Jaglom. a great bootleg section, DJ night, and a free rentals section. One of the best shops in LA. The Cinefile and Family gangs are actually working together as a third gang for some cool upcoming projects. Stay Tuned.
posted by sammy at 1:40 PM
0 comments
