News

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of August already; this summer has been flying by. Later this week I’ll be heading to France for a vacation, and I’m pretty pumped. I’ve never been before. We’ll be spending a few days in Paris as well as Nice and Menton. If any readers have any sort of recommendations, send em my way! I’ve been trying to shift into French mode before the trip (I’m even wearing my Deletär shirt while writing this) so I’ve been listening to all sorts of different French music. Today I’m focusing on one of my favorite earlier discoveries, Troupeau Bleu by Cortex, originally released in 1975. I remember first finding out about this album in high school cause MF DOOM sampled Huit octobre 1971 on One Beer and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I then checked out the rest of the album and fell in love with it. My favorite track on here though has always been Prélude à Go Round. The slower start and the way the vocals come in all dreamy-like has always done it for me. Top to bottom, though, it’s a great listen with some serious grooves going on throughout it. I still need to secure a copy of this myself. I’ve never come across one in person, so maybe I’ll just have to bite the bullet and consult the world wide web. Maybe I’ll get lucky and come across it in France. Hopefully I’ll have some interesting stuff to write about after this trip. Au revoir!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. I got to travel to Chicago this past weekend for a quick trip, and it was a blast. I’d never been before and always wanted to go, so it was fun finally getting to check it out. What a cool city. I even got to catch a nice afternoon Cubs game at Wrigley and it was a perfect day in the 70s and blue skies. Doesn’t get much better than that. This week I’m gonna be writing about the new Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton record, Live At The Legion. This may seem like déjà vu, as I was lucky enough to attend the show this live album was recorded at back in April of last year (and already wrote about it). I was real excited to see this was getting a physical release. It’s so cool to own an actual record of a live show you were at, hearing all the banter in between songs and remembering it all. This show was at a small bar in the back of an American Legion post in Nashville, so you can hear a pin drop. My favorite little detail was at one point you can hear a glass bottle get knocked over, and I remember seeing the person sitting by me accidentally kicking it over. This is a great show from top to bottom with a real relaxed feel and flow to it. I could try to name some of my favorite tracks off here, but I’d end up naming pretty much every single one. This was one of the coolest nights of my life, and I’m so happy to have it immortalized on a slab. I even got to meet the man himself after the performance and exchange a few words. Definitely a night I’ll never forget as long as I live, and I can’t wait to be an old man and throw this bad boy on and tell people I was there. Thanks again, Billy and Bryan! We still have a couple copies in stock of the Indie exclusive version if you’re interested in picking up a copy.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. This week I will be writing about the Grateful Dead, so probably 99% of y’all can stop reading now. I honestly wanted to write about something else cause I know most people reading this couldn’t care less, but it’s what I’ve been listening to the most lately and this year marks 60 years of the bands formation and we just randomly got this cassette from a collection so why not let it rip? I get it; the most popular, mainstream Grateful Dead stuff is from the late 80s/90s and it’s pretty bad, hokey, whatever you wanna call it. Unfortunately, that’s a lot of people’s first and only impressions. Not saying everyone would like the earlier material, but I think some people would be surprised to hear what the Grateful Dead sounded like in their early years, specifically ’65-’70. Today I’m writing about the album released in 1973, Bear’s Choice: History of The Grateful Dead (Vol. 1). The “Bear” in the title refers to Owsley Stanley, who recorded this material at a couple different live shows three years earlier in 1970 at the Filmore East in New York City. Owsley provided quite a few “extracurriculars” for the band as well as acting as the band’s soundman at this time. The album starts off with excerpts from a very laid-back acoustic set by the band, mostly covers including Katie Mae, Dark Hollow, and a version of Wake Up Little Susie that I’ve always been particularly fond of. The second half of the album features only two songs, mostly due to the first one being a ripping 18 minute cover of Howlin Wolf’s Smokestack Lightning, followed by Hard To Handle. The band’s lead man at the time, Pigpen, has a bluesy, raw voice that really lends itself to these tracks. Anyway, if you’ve ever been “Dead-Curious” I’d say a great place to start would be here and the Live Dead album. Don’t knock it till you try it!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. It’s been hot and rainy here in Raleigh, but what’s new? Almost a year ago, I wrote about the Norman Blake album Whiskey Before Breakfast. Coincidently, I finally just came across a copy of his 1972 album, Home In Sulphur Springs. Another album full of some of my favorite songs he’s written and some incredible picking. I really love all the instrumental tracks on here, especially Warp Factor #9. Usually once a week on one of my days off, if the weather is nice, I like to go on a hike at Umstead State Park here, especially in the summertime. This song always makes me think of cruising down the trails there alongside the river and the light shining through in patches through the canopy of the forest. I probably just listened to this song while doing this one time and it’s secretly burned into my memory, but also the instrumental just gives off so much emotion and paints a vivid picture, all without lyrics. My favorite track on here, though, is Randall Collins, which is the song that originally got me hooked on Norman Blake via Billy Strings. It’s just such a cool song. Other highlights on the album include Cattle In The Cane, Ginseng Sullivan, and Bringing In The Georgia Mail. This record is essential if you’re into this kinda music and I’m happy to finally own a copy.

What’s up Sorry State readers? Holy cow, it feels like an eternity since I’ve done one of these, so apologies if I’m a little rusty. I missed the return newsletter last week cause I was in Memphis visiting my mom for the week, which was very nice. Not much has happened since the last newsletter before half the Sorry State crew was over in Europe. Their stories are much more interesting and entertaining than mine. I was, however, introduced to an album I’ve totally been diggin since Dom showed it to me a couple weeks ago, The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend. I got a copy of the newest reissue that Rhino just put out and from what I can tell it seems to be very well done and high quality. Baby Huey died in 1970 of a heart attack at the age of 26 and this album was released posthumously the following year in 1971. The album starts off with an infectious groove that doesn’t let up for the entire record. Plenty of funky and groovy basslines and breaks that have been sampled countless times by producers years later. The standout track has to be the almost ten minute version of Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Going To Come that truly is a psychedelic journey, full of Baby Huey’s loud, piercing shrieks. That last part kinda sounds like a knock, but it’s definitely not. I love them. I also really like the instrumental version of California Dreamin on here. Maybe many of you have already heard of this album, but if you’re like me and haven’t or just never bothered to check it out, do yourself a favor and do it!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. Last week Scarecrow opened up for TV Smith’s Adverts and it was sick. Both bands absolutely killed it. When he came on stage, he dubbed Scarecrow “the hardest band in the world,” so get that etched in stone. Tuesday May 20th, Ultimate Disaster is playing at Kings alongside Starving Bomb and From Below, so that should be a great show as well. If you’re in Raleigh or any of the surrounding areas definitely check it out. Speaking of shows at Kings, another one happening at the end of the month is what leads me to my pick for this week. I saw a video someone shared on Instagram of this band called TAKAAT playing and it sounded really good, so I clicked on the bands profile and saw they were on tour and were conveniently coming to play at Kings on May 30th. I thought they kinda looked/sounded familiar, and then realized the three of them are actually the rhythm section of Mdou Moctar. Apparently this side project came together while they were on tour and doing sound checks, when they realized they had a shared common interest of cranking the amp up all the way and having that blown out sound. They released this four song 10” and it sounds great; I’ve really been digging it. Definitely some good guitar shredding going down on here. I think they’re sold out of copies on their bandcamp, but we still have some available as I’m writing this. I’m really excited to see them in person too. I think it’ll be a really great show. Hopefully they have the volume cranked up to the max.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. Last week I wrote about my favorite movie director, Stanley Kubrick, and this week I’m writing about my other favorite director, David Lynch. Well not exactly, but an album that he produced alongside frequent collaborator Angelo Badalamenti, Floating Into The Night by Julee Cruise. This album was released in 1989 and some of the songs on here would be featured on the Twin Peaks soundtrack the following year. The whole album has that same dream like flow and feel to it that a lot of David Lynch’s work has. It always gives me a kind of melancholy feeling whenever I listen to it, but sometimes that’s nice. One song in particular I really like on here is Rockin Back Inside My Heart. It’s just a very pretty song. I remember the first time I heard it was in a scene in Twin Peaks where Julee Cruise is performing it. It was stuck in my head after hearing it, and then I looked it up and was led to this album and was like, “oh shit I’ve heard a bunch of these songs in the show.” Anyways, good album to check out even if you’ve never watched the show or anything.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. This past Sunday I went and saw Stanley Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon in theaters. I’m a huge Kubrick fan, but admittedly this was my first time watching this one. I think it’s because the time period it’s set in, the 18th century, honestly isn’t of huge interest to me. Not to mention its long run time of just over three hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love a long movie, but I think just the combination of those two things kinda put me off of it. I tried to watch it once a while back when I had Covid, but I think my brain was just really foggy and I was kinda dozing off and on and just stopped after a bit, so I was excited to have the opportunity to see it in theaters where I could really lock in and focus on the movie. The movie is the story of a young Irish lad’s aspirations and dizzying ascent to join the upper echelon of English society by any means necessary. You can’t help but find Redmond Barry, as he’s known in the first half of the movie, to be endearing in his cunning ways. After a series of different professions and schemes, he meets a rich countess, Lady Lyndon, who’s married to a rich and titled elderly man, Sir Charles Lyndon. After seducing her, he basically gives Sir Charles a heart attack by hitting on his wife so hard and not giving a fuck when confronted about it. They end up marrying and this is when our dear protagonist becomes Barry Lyndon, who soon is corrupted by wealth and greed and turns into a real dick. The second half of the movie is about how all the opulence and excess that comes with wealth will destroy the human part of someone and ultimately be their downfall. I absolutely loved every minute of it. This is probably the most beautiful film I’ve ever seen. So many shots look like incredible paintings that you’d see in massive gold frames hanging in museums in Europe. It truly feels like you’re watching a master of his craft just having a field day setting up incredible shots and scenes and nailing every single one. When I woke up the next morning after watching this, it was still racing through my mind. I had a similar experience when I watched 2001 A Space Odyssey. I could not stop thinking about what I had just watched and how incredible it was. I remember getting home afterwards and staying up till like 4AM reading all I could about it. Damn, I love Stanley Kubrick. I guess to end this I would say if you’ve put off watching this film, do yourself a favor and do it, especially if you can find a theater near you that happens to be showing it.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice two weeks. Mine have been phenomenal. Last weekend Billy Strings came to Koka Booth Amphitheater here for three nights of pickin and grinnin, and it was too much fun. Dom even tagged along the first night and we had an absolute blast boogying to some bluegrass. It wouldn’t be an NC show either if there wasn’t a bunch of Doc Watson played and the boys even got an Ole Slew Foot. It felt like a minute since I’d been to an outdoor show and the weather was beautiful, so we really lucked out here. A good time was had all around. Then, this past Sunday was my birthday, and I had a very relaxing day spending time with my love and going on a hike and getting a delicious French meal over in Durham. Even got some herbs planted in our little garden. So I’ve been happy as a clam lately and embracing the arrival of Spring and all the greenery returning again. When you’re feeling good, you need the music to match, and a record I got this past RSD has been filling that role: I’m Not Made of Iron by Chrissy Zebby Tembo & Ngozi Family. A Zamrock banger from the 70s, this thing is straight heat from start to finish, with kickin drums and that sweet sweet guitar fuzz. Side note: this goes to show why I appreciate physical media, cause this wasn’t available online till this release, and they totally botched it on streaming services with the tracks all mislabeled. This release also contains an awesome booklet with information galore and a bunch of cool photos from back in the day. My favorite song on here has to be the title track. I’ve had it stuck in my head since I heard it, and it’s just a great track. Definitely check this one out, but not on streaming cause you’re gonna be very confused with song titles.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. As I’m sure most of you are aware, this past Saturday was Record Store Day. Definitely our busiest day of the year, but luckily everything went very smoothly and most everyone seemed to get what they were looking for. I’m glad we’re not one of these record stores that makes a huge deal of RSD and opens up at like 6 AM or something, but to each their own. I hope if you participated this year, you got all the titles you were looking for cause there were definitely some good ones. Of course I had to get in on the fun too. I picked up a copy of Mingus At Monterey, a live album of Charles Mingus’ 1964 performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival. I’m always a sucker for live albums, and RSD always seems to deliver the goods on that front. What really hooked me on this was reading the notes on the back of the cover written by Mr. Mingus himself on the performance. It’s really awesome to read about it from his perspective and what was going through his head during the whole performance. My favorite part is when he talks about what was happening during the song “A Train.” He felt heart palpitations and thought his own death was imminent and looked up to the sky and said “Well, here I come, baby. Lord, I guess this is it” and that energy translated into his playing. Obviously, he didn’t drop dead during this performance, but I can only imagine how wild that must’ve felt. This record also sounds amazing. You can really hear that bass thumping throughout the whole thing. It’s hard for me to say what my favorite song is on here cause it seems silly to reduce the performance to individual songs rather than just view the performance as a whole. That probably sounds dumb and snobby and fake sophisticated lol, but if I wanna listen to this, I wanna listen to the whole thing, not just a certain song or part. I guess you could say that really about any album, but I guess I especially feel that way about live jazz records. Maybe what I’m really trying to say is I love all of it. If you come across this one and you didn’t already snag one this past weekend, I’d definitely recommend you snag it. Throw it on and just pop a squat in front of your record player, close your eyes and imagine yourself in that crowd in Monterey in 1964.

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone had a great week. As expected, the show this past week at The Pour House was amazing. All three bands (Scarecrow, Homemade Speed, and Paprika) absolutely killed it and it was a great way to spend a Wednesday night. Always a hoot. I’m pretty sure the next show in Raleigh will be on the 24th at Neptunes and Scarecrow will be ripping it up again with Jail and Paranoid Maniac, so mark your calendars! This past week we got a bunch of heat at the store with a bunch of different orders from various labels, so it was a dangerous week for the wallet. I ended up grabbing both Varaus reissues we got in: the 7” and the 1/2 LP. I’m sure most everyone reading the newsletter is familiar with these records, but they’re new to me and they both quickly grabbed my attention. Another reason I’m always grateful for working at Sorry State is cause I’m always introduced to sick shit like this that I’m fairly positive I never would have discovered on my own. I don’t have much of my own thoughts to share on these other than they totally rip and if you don’t own these, I highly recommend snagging them while we have both in stock. Obviously I’m a fan of both, but I’ve had a slight lean towards the 7”. Maybe cause it’s just four tracks, so it’s a little easier to digest while listening for the first few times. If I had to go with a favorite track, I’d say track one on the B side, Tuhoava Voima. Anyways, that’s it for this time, I hope wherever you are you get some great spring weather this week!

What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone is having a nice week. If you’re in Raleigh, or anywhere near, I’d make a point to come out to The Pour House here on Wednesday night (April 2nd) for a great gig. Three ripping bands (Scarecrow, Paprika, and Homemade Speed), all of whom I’m excited to see take the stage. Definitely gonna be a barn burner. On that note, today I’m actually gonna be writing about punk music. Yes, I still do in fact love listening to punk and hardcore even though most of the time my staff picks are about some old ass folk or bluegrass album. I figure my colleagues are much more qualified and knowledgeable in that realm than me, but every once in a while, I gotta dip my toes in. Actually, Usman already wrote about this comp last October, and much better than I will, but I’ve been blasting it this weekend so I figured why not. I’m talking about the We Can’t Help It If We’re From Florida comp that was reissued last year. If you read my staff picks, you know I’m a sucker for comps, and this one is right up my alley. The original was on a 7”, but this reissue is on a 10” with some bonus tracks. The title cracks me up; it’s too perfect. These crazy Floridians knew how to rip, though… there’s no doubt about that. It starts off strong with five songs from Hated Youth, my favorite of the bunch being “Hardcore Rules”. The standout group on here for me, though, would have to be Roach Motel, who has seven ripping tracks on here. How could you not love a song called “My Dog is Into Anarchy”? Anyways, surprisingly we still have some copies available here at Sorry State, so if you’ve been sleeping on this one, time to wake up and snag one!