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John Scott's Staff Pick: March 25, 2024

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. Lately, I’ve really just been dreaming of summertime. I can’t wait to go lay out at the beach or go chill at the river one Sunday afternoon. I feel like whatever season is the next one approaching is the one I love, but man I really do love summertime. Last summer, I was visiting a friend who lives over in Wilmington for the weekend and we were hanging out on the beach and my buddy was playing music on a speaker. All the sudden this song came on and probably about a minute into it I was like, “what is this song? Man, this is amazing” and he told me it was Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries by Willie Bobo. A smarter person than myself would’ve been able to deduce this pretty easily, since those are the only words throughout the entire song. I don’t know how to put it into words exactly, but this song sounds like it’s been baking out in the sun all day. The vocals are very warm and welcoming like Willie Bobo himself is inviting you to come enjoy some fried neck bones and home fries with him and his friends. I remember driving back to his place after the beach that day and saying, “hey, can you play that fried neck bones song again?” The next day I was driving back to Raleigh, so I decided to listen to the rest of the album and man what a treat. It was almost hard to drive cause this whole album makes you wanna stand up and shake the dust off your hips. Everyone has probably heard a hundred different covers of Michelle whether you want to or not, but this is by far my favorite one I’ve ever heard. I didn’t know so much life and energy could be shot into that song, but Willie turns it out. The way they shout “Michelle! Ma Belle!” will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. All this to say, I’m excited to drink cold beers in the hot sun this summer while listening to Latin jazz.

John Scott's Staff Pick: March 18, 2024

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a nice week. I feel like I always mention the weather or season at the beginning of my write-ups, but that’s cause it really can affect my listening habits. We’ve had amazing spring weather here in Raleigh this past week. I think we even got up into the 80s one day. My cutoff jean shorts were calling my name like the green goblin mask. With great power (sunny and 70s) though, comes great responsibility (a bunch of pollen everywhere.) It hasn’t gotten too bad yet with the pollen, but I know it’s coming. Anyways, about a month ago I wrote about that 60s French female pop compilation I was really digging that I got at Goner Records in Memphis. Fast forward to last week, I’m flipping through the International section (one of my favorites) at the store and come across this France Gall record. The cover alone told me all I needed to know about this album, but what really sold me was the hype sticker on this Third Man pressing. And I quote, “with the psychedelic era upon us, we find Gall, now in her 20s, singing increasingly strange songs about mummies, LSD, and dreams of death.” It’s like that sentence was constructed in a lab to specifically appeal to me. How could I not buy it after reading that? It’s the perfect record for this time of year when everything is blooming. Why not have some bright, warm music to match? Even though I don’t understand any French, you can still pick up on the feelings and mood of each song. My two favorites on here being Nefertiti (written by Serge Gainsbourg) and Les yeux bleus. Getchu some French pop in your system this spring.

John Scott's Staff Pick: March 4, 2024

Whats up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a nice week. It finally feels like spring has arrived here in NC, though we’ll see if we get hit with another cold blast. This past week I returned from my road trip across the South East which was a bunch of fun. I got to listen to a whole lot of bluegrass, see most of my family, and show my girlfriend around where I grew up. When we were in Memphis for a couple days, we decided to drive down to Oxford, MS for the day just to hang out in town and walk around. If you don’t know, Ole Miss is located right in Oxford and the town basically revolves around the school. This is pretty much the southern-preppy capital so it’s a little funny, but the town also has a long and interesting history on its own, including being the home of William Faulkner, a southern author whose stories often took place in the fictional Mississippi county Yoknapatawpha. You can even still visit his house and walk around the property and see where he’d sit and write and draw inspiration from. Like a true old southern town, the town square is the most central part of town where everything is: shops, restaurants, bars and a big ol court house right in the middle for good measure. Hidden in this bustling square though, right up some stairs to the side of a building, I came across a record store. End of All Music was the name of the shop and I was absolutely blown away by it. Right away you could tell this shop was run by people who really loved and cared about music. A vast collection of all genres of music, used and new, and organized very well so it was easy to find what you’re looking for. I was fully expecting a run of the mill record store located in this preppy college town’s square and was happily surprised. I could’ve stayed in there for hours flipping through everything but my mom and girlfriend didn’t come down to Oxford to watch me shop for records all day, so it was kept to a brief visit. When I’m in a situation like this, out of state in a great record store, I like to get something totally out of left field. Maybe I’ll like it, maybe I won’t, but I’ll always remember when and where I got it. I came across this record, Hypnotic Guitar of John Ondolo, released on Mississippi Records (very fitting). I like being hypnotized by a guitar and I knew I would never listen to this unless I just bought it, so I decided to go with that. John Ondolo was a guitarist, singer, songwriter and filmmaker from Tanzania, which is pretty impressive. The songs on here are nothing crazy, just rhythmic guitar with some vocals, a flute, and percussion. It’s not something I’d necessarily be dying to get, but I’m glad I bought it. Sometimes, especially I feel the longer you’ve been collecting, you can fall into certain buying patterns. You have a long list of stuff you wanna get by certain artists, and sometimes it can be hard to stray from that, but I think it’s important sometimes to pick something up that you’ve never seen or heard of in your life and say “this looks cool, I’m gonna get this.” You may not always hit a home run, but it’s important to expand your musical horizons and try a little bit of everything. And who knows you might just find your new favorite thing. If I didn’t get this record, I probably could’ve gone my whole life without hearing any music that came out of Tanzania, so I’m glad I decided to pick this up. It’s kinda sounding like I’m saying I don’t like this record, but I’m too stubborn to admit it, which is far from the truth. It’s just not a record I’m gonna be listening to everyday but there’s some songs on here I really enjoy like Haukutoka Mbinguni. However, I know one day I’ll have a musical itch in my head and wanna hear something and I’ll be flipping through my records going “no….no…..no….no” and then I’ll come across this record and throw it on and the memories will come flooding back in and l’ll smile.

John Scott's Staff Pick: February 12, 2024

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. This coming Friday, I’ll be departing for a road trip that spans from the mountains of North Carolina to the muddy banks of the Mississippi in Memphis while catching some Billy Strings shows along the way. It’ll all be capped off with a Sunday night performance at The Ryman in Nashville, which I’m still in disbelief that I actually have tickets for. Since I’ll be making the voyage to the Mother Church, I thought it would be fitting that this week I write about the Father of Country Music, Mr. Jimmie Rodgers. Jimmie is known for his yodeling, which understandably, might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I remember the first time I heard yodeling was when I was in elementary school in Nashville. We had a school assembly to watch this girl perform who was on America’s Got Talent or some similar TV show for yodeling. Obviously America did not select this yodeling little girl to be their new champion, but that didn’t stop Walnut Grove Elementary from booking her. I remember hearing it and thinking it sounded pretty funny, but also kinda intriguing? Fast forward 15+ years and I still feel the same way. It does sound kinda funny but also nice. It’s a very natural thing and pretty much anyone can yodel, but to convey some sort of emotion with it is where the talent steps in. Jimmie’s yodel is a very high, lonesome sound, almost like a coyote howl. The man had a short and tough life, so it’s no wonder these blues were flowing through him. He was working as a brakeman for the railroad when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1924 and by 1927, had to stop working due to his declining health. Following medical advice that stated he should live somewhere high and dry to ease his symptoms, he moved his family to Asheville, North Carolina. This led to him focusing more on his recording career and his time working on the railroad was very influential to his sound and the subject matter of his music. He continued his musical career until his untimely death in 1933 at the age of 35. The amount of timeless music he recorded in this short time is staggering and continues to influence country, folk and bluegrass artists even today. His presence even remains in pop culture. The movie O Brother Where Art Thou features the main characters, The Soggy Bottom Boys, performing a version of his song In the Jailhouse Now. This record is a compilation of some of his more popular tunes, my favorites being My Rough and Rowdy Ways and Peach Picking Time in Georgia, both songs Doc Watson would commonly cover (and now Billy as well.) Who knows, maybe I’ll have a real full circle life moment and get to hear Billy do some yodeling down at the Ryman in Nashville. Either way, I’m looking forward to traveling through the great states of North Carolina and Tennessee and hearing the music the land had such a huge part in developing.

John Scott's Staff Pick: February 5, 2024

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone has had a better past week than I have. Between getting covid last week, being in the midst of moving out of my apartment, and dealing with money hungry property managers, it’s been a stressful time. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though, so I just gotta keep on keepin on. Some people may listen to angry/aggressive stuff when they’re stressed out. It’s therapeutic. There’s definitely a time and a place for that for me, but more often than not I find myself listening to happier music in these times, and what’s a better way to escape than listening to a compilation of various female French singers of the 60s? I picked this up this past December at Goner Records when I was visiting my family in Memphis. This one caught my eye while I was flipping through records and picked it up on a whim and it exceeded all expectations. Something about listening to songs in a language you don’t understand gives you more room to think/daydream while listening to them. Dominic has also taught me the power of compilations being the perfect way to discover new artists to fall in love with, and this one has definitely opened up some new doors for me. The packaging is great on this, featuring a gatefold cover that opens up to pictures and bios of all the artists featured throughout the album, which is always interesting to read about. The record itself is a nice 180 gram “blonde” vinyl. Colored vinyl has never been a big deal for me, but I appreciate a nice unique color. Listening to this record makes me feel like I’ve been transported to a 1960s atomic cocktail lounge in France and I’m wearing some real funky shit. My favorite tracks on here are:

France Gall—Laisser Tomber Les Filles

Anna Karina—Roller Girl

Annie Philippe—C’Est La Mode

I’ve really enjoyed diving into the rest of the discographies of these artists and Dom also pointed out to me when I brought this into the store to listen to that the label that released this compilation, Ace International, has a bunch of other really amazing compilation albums of similar things, so I’ve been checking out a lot of those as well. Definitely check these out cause there’s something there for everyone. I’m just ready to be moved into my new place and get my record player set back up and have a return to normalcy. Onwards and Upwards.

John Scott's Staff Pick: January 22, 2024

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone is having a nice week. This week I’d like to talk about a record my girlfriend gave me for Christmas, Johnny Cash: At The Carousel Ballroom - April 24, 1968, adding to the already long list of live records I’ve written about. I love this record but I hardly ever buy records online and never came across it in person, so I was excited to receive it. The sound quality is amazing on this, thanks to it being recorded by the legendary Owsley Stanley. If you’re not familiar with The King of Acid, just check out his wikipedia page for a good rundown of the man of many talents. This show takes place just over a month after Johnny and June Carter got married, which would explain why he seems in such a good mood throughout the whole show. This show starts off hot with Cocaine Blues followed by a more somber Long Black Veil. He gets things kickin again though with Orange Blossom Special, cause what show would be complete without a train song? Gordon Lightfoot is even in the crowd and makes a request for Forty Shades of Green, which then gets played for him. A little over halfway through the show, June Carter joins in for a couple duets before performing a solo medley of Carter Family songs. The whole show flows very nicely and has a good mix of slower songs and more upbeat ones. It also comes with a booklet that has a lot of cool pictures, the poster for the show, and notes from other artists like Bob Weir. All in all, this is a great release and a great addition to anyone’s collection who’s a Johnny Cash fan.

John Scott's 2023 Year in Review

What’s up Sorry State readers and Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and a good start to the new year. I can’t believe it’s already 2024. I feel like the last half of this past year really just flew by, but I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that way. 2023 was a great year of music for me between a ton of amazing live shows, new releases, and some great reissues too. I don’t think I’ve ever consumed more music in any year than I did in 2023. Here’s hoping there’s even more in 2024! Today, I’d like to highlight some titles that came out last year that I really enjoyed, some brand new and like I mentioned earlier, some reissues of older material. In no particular order, here are some of my favorites from 2023:

Delco MF’s - 100% Complete and Total Motherfuckers 12"
This record is a collection of the first year of material from Delco MF’s and what a great year it was. Every track on here is ripping, but what really solidified this as a favorite of mine was seeing them destroy their set at the Sorry State 10th Anniversary fest. No beer can was safe. If you haven’t already checked this one out, do yourself a favor and hop on it.

Tožibabe - Discography 1984-1986 12”
As you may gather from the title, this record compiles material released by the band between the years ‘84 -’86 as well as some recordings of live performances that honestly sound pretty good for what they are. This is a prime example of why I feel so lucky to have a job where I get to learn about so much different music and branch out. Without working at Sorry State, I probably never would have discovered an 80s all-female hardcore band from Yugoslavia on my own. I love this record though and I find myself wanting to run it back from the top whenever it’s finished.

Ida E Os Voltas - Demo 1986 12”
Another 80s banger, this one comes out of Brazil this time. This record features the only recordings of the short-lived post punk band on vinyl for the first time. This record is just so catchy and fun to listen to the whole way through. Warning: These songs will get stuck in your head.

Haunted Mansion - S/T 7”
Okay, how about something that actually came out this year. This thing is short, sweet and to the point at four songs. Favorite track on here is Your House is Mine. Not for the faint of heart if the sounds of a spooky haunted house and witches cackling scare you.

People’s Temple - I’m With The People’s Temple 7"
I am fully with the People’s Temple out of Brooklyn. There’s some seriously catchy guitar riffs all throughout the jam-packed eight track 7”. I’ve enjoyed revisiting this one throughout the year, as it came out in February. Only you can decide which side you stand on with this band. Hopefully you don’t share the same sentiments as the gentleman at the beginning of the track Nuclear War Obsession.

Frantix - My Dad’s A Fuckin’ Alcoholic 7”
Disclaimer: My dad isn’t a fuckin alcoholic but I’ve been around enough alcoholic dads to enjoy this one. Sometimes music can just be dumb and fun and forty years after this originally came out, it’s still just as fun to listen to. Plus, how can you not like that cover art?

Legal Weapon - Death Of Innocence 12”
I’m looking at this now and I actually think this reissue came out in ‘22 and not ‘23. Maybe it came out closer to the end of ‘22? Regardless, it’s close enough, and I listened to it a lot this year, so we’re gonna roll with it. Pretty sure everyone here at Sorry State is a big fan of this record, so I’m sure anyone reading this is familiar. There’s really nothing not to love about this one.

Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels - The Last Roundup (Live From The Bijou Café In Philadelphia, 3/16/73) 12"
I just wrote about this one for my last staff pick so I don’t have too much else to say about it that I didn’t already say there. Of course, I had to sneak this into my end of the year list amongst a sea of punk. If you get the chance to, listen to this incredible live show. It just might save your soul punk.

Various - Screaming Death 12"
Holy smokes! What more can you ask for than four ripping bands kickin ass all over twelve inches? Always one of my go-to’s when someone comes into the store saying they wanna listen to some new shit. Maybe I’m biased cause the always-gnarly Scarecrow is featured on here with four pummeling tracks, but don’t get it twisted, every other band on here (Destruct, Rat Cage, Dissekerad) brings their A-game, which culminates in one incredible project from start to finish.

Meat House - S/T 12”
I had to get one Sorry State release in here, and I’m sure it’s one you all know and love. Hardcore noise to melt your face, delivered to you at blistering speeds. If you don’t like it, keep it to yourself, nerd.

John Scott's Staff Pick: December 18, 2023

What’s up Sorry State readers, It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these so I may be a little rusty. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and has been enjoying the holiday season. I’ll be road tripping to Memphis this coming week, which is about a twelve hour drive. I’ve never really minded long drives. Honestly, I kinda enjoy them, plus I’ll be picking up my brother in Asheville and my other brother in Nashville along the way, so I’ll have some company to keep things interesting. If you’re travelling somewhere this year, and whichever way you get there, I hope everyone has safe travels. As everyone knows, Record Store Day happened last month and there were some cool titles that came out. One that I was really excited about (and the only one I got) was this Gram Parsons and The Fallen Angels record that contains a live show from 3/16/73 at the Bijou Café in Philadelphia, also featuring Emmylou Harris on vocals. This soundboard recording was recently uncovered after the pedal steel player, Neil Flanz, brought it to light after being in possession of the tape for 40 years, which was then acquired by Amoeba music and forgotten about in their vault for another 10 years. For a recording from a 50 year old tape, this thing sounds amazing. It feels like you’re really sitting there in that small café and listening to this intimate show. As I’ve mentioned time and time before, I love listening to a live show, especially with all the banter and everything in between songs. It’s what gives the performance character and makes it unique. The show starts off with the band intros and a ripping cover of Flint Hill Special, a Flatt & Scruggs bluegrass staple. I love Emmylou’s voice so much. I feel she’s very underrated when people talk about female voices in country music. Which is why I really enjoyed the cover of Hank Williams’ Jambalaya on here where she takes the reins for the song and really belts it out. You can tell listening to this that they’re having a great time up there and the band was really meshing well that night. Other favorites on here include Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man, Streets of Baltimore, Sin City and the unexpected five-sog rock n’ roll medley that caps this show off. I know I would’ve been in the Bijou Café hootin and hollerin that night if I was there. But that was 26 years before I was born, so until time machines exist, this record will do me just fine.

John Scott's Staff Pick: November 14, 2023

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. I’m still thinking about the 10th anniversary fest, so I figured I’d write about a record by a band that I was really excited about seeing that weekend, 100% Complete and Total Motherfuckers by Delco MF’s. This 12” is a collection of the first two 7”s released by the band over the past year and it totally rips. I was kicking myself because I remember getting the 7”s into the store and never listening to them really, and then when I heard they would be playing that weekend, I went back and checked them out and was blown away. By that point, though, we had been long sold out of both of them. Luckily for me though, they dropped this very convenient 12” record compiling both of them. With 11 songs clocking in at 11 minutes, this thing is non-stop ripping from start to finish. After listening to this a bunch, I was excited to see them live and they did not disappoint, delivering an amazing set at the late show at the Pour House. No beer can was safe from being launched through the air during this performance. The record does a great job of capturing the same energy they had during a live performance, and it’s one you find yourself flipping back to side A when it’s over to do it all again. Definitely check this one out if you haven’t already. Favorite track is March Of The MF’s.

John Scott's Staff Pick: November 6, 2023

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a nice Halloween and month of October. Mine seemed to fly by, but it was a good one between the Sorry State fest, the fair, IBMA, Halloween, and watching way too many old horror movies. Speaking of Sorry State fest, I know it happened over two weeks ago now, but I’m still reeling over how much fun it was. Every single band killed it and it was a blast getting to pop around to the different venues and see everyone there. It definitely was a weekend I’ll remember for a long time. We just had as close to a perfect week of weather as you can get here in Raleigh. It was like seven straight days of perfect fall weather and all the leaves had changed. It was the kind of week that makes you really appreciate the seasons here in North Carolina. In true NC fashion, though, it changed overnight, and it feels more like winter now. I’m still in fall mode though as it feels like it just arrived, so I’m gonna keep the feeling going with my record this week, Songs The Lord Taught Us by The Cramps. I picked this bad boy up from our Halloween drop (I guess getting a Cramps record from this drop is a yearly tradition for me now) and I’m really happy to add it to my collection. Everyone has probably already heard this album that’s reading this, so I’m not gonna talk about something you already know, but damn I love this record. Not a skip on here and my favorite song is always changing. It’s the perfect music for this time of year. I can happily keep the creepy spirit of October rolling along thru the winter by keeping this slab on the record player.

John Scott's Staff Pick: October 16, 2023

What’s up Sorry State readers, I hope everyone is having a nice week. The official signifier of fall (for me) has finally arrived here in Raleigh, the State Fair. I know lots of people have mixed feelings about the fair. Some love it, some hate it, and some just like going for the food or people watching. I happen to be one of the people who loves the fair, the rides, exhibits, carnies and all. It just has such a distinct feel to it that’s never really changed to me, and I have a blast every year. That doesn’t really have anything to do with the record I’m writing about today; I’m just excited for the fair, man. Anyway, I sometimes seem to obsessively dive into things I get into, especially music, movies, etc., and go down a rabbit hole. Today I would like to talk about the Gram Parsons rabbit hole I’ve been going down this year. It all started back in March when I went to a Billy Strings show (shocker) in Charleston, South Carolina. He did a cover of the song Hickory Wind, which was unknown to me at the time, and I remember hearing it and being like, “man this is a really good song.” The next morning, while in the cheap, sketchy, smoker friendly motel room we had gotten, I thought of the song again and looked it up to see who it was by and was surprised when The Byrds popped up. I was confused. “The Byrds made this country song? I thought they were a rock band?” I returned to work and regaled Dominic with stories from my trip. The song came up, and I told him how much I liked it but was confused it was a Byrds song. That’s when Dominic introduced me to the wonderful world of Gram Parsons. The fact this guy just joined this rock band and was like, “nah fuck this, we’re making country music now” was so cool to me. Especially cause I feel like the end result could be so horrible, but it ended up sounding so amazing and authentic. I started listening to Sweetheart of the Rodeo a bunch and it quickly became a favorite album of mine. What really solidified this interest in Gram was when Billy came here in June and played a couple shows, he did a cover of Sin City, also unknown to me at the time, and I had the exact same thought of, “man this is an amazing song.” After the show I look it up and what do you know, it’s a Flying Burrito Brothers song. I started learning more about Gram Parsons’ story and realized what an incredibly interesting, badass, impactful, and tragic life this man had. It blows my mind this was just a dude who was my age doing all this stuff. Sweetheart of the Rodeo is just about a perfect album to me. Amazing original songs and very thoughtful and timeless covers of country and folk classics. This album just has it all for me, even a murder ballad! My favorite tracks on here are You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, I Am a Pilgrim, Hickory Wind, and Pretty Polly. Music is like a map and if you look in the right direction and start following it, you can be led down a path of incredible discoveries you might not have found otherwise.

John Scott's Staff Pick: October 9, 2023

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. We’re chugging along here at Sorry State. I feel like there’s a bunch going on right now with the 10th anniversary festival coming up in just a couple weeks. I’ve been kinda struggling to come up with something to write about cause I feel like I’ve listened to a bunch of different stuff this week, so it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing. I was going thru some records I have here at the store and I came across this GÜIÑA: Que Justicia 7" I had back there and realized I had never written about it. GÜIÑA is a band from Santiago, Chile that released this 7” after a tour around Europe with PIÑEN. That’s about as much info as I can find about them. I did learn that a guiña is a cool ass cat that lives primarily in central and southern Chile. I hadn’t listened to it in a minute, so I threw it on and it was just as good as I remembered. I really liked this one off the bat. I think we got it in a couple months ago and just the artwork alone was enough to grab my interest. This thing rips from top to bottom and flies by at four tracks. I like the vocals a lot on here too, even if I don’t know what they’re saying. It sounds loud and angry tho. We still have some copies available at the time of writing, so snag one if you wanna hear some good fast shit.