Crib Notes

BLUES CLUES: Michael Gray's book details his journey to uncover the story of Blind Willie McTell.

I want eight crapshooters for my pallbearers, let ‘em all be dressed down in black.
I want nine men going to the graveyard, but only eight mens coming back.
I want a gang of gamblers gathered around my coffin side, with a crooked card printed on my hearse.
Don’t say that crapshooters will never grieve over me, my life’s been a doggone curse.
— Blind Willie McTell, “Dying Crapshooter’s Blues”

Take a walk over to the corner of Luckie and Cone streets in downtown Atlanta and you won’t find much today, just a parking lot, a parking garage and a convenience store. Back in 1940, when the Tabernacle down on Luckie Street was still the Third Baptist Church, John and Ruby Lomax were staying at the Robert Fulton Hotel, a hulking mass of red brick that towered over that street corner.

Late one afternoon during their stay, Ruby noticed a blind black man playing a 12-string for change in front of a Pig’n Whistle barbecue stand on Ponce de Leon Avenue. He accepted their invitation to record a few songs for the Library of Congress archive, on the condition that he was paid a dollar plus cab fare. In his notes about the day, Lomax would write, “He sang some interesting blues. His guitar picking was excellent. … He shuffled away from me across a busy street in the downtown district. I watched him until he was out of sight.”

Continue reading “Retracing Blind Willie’s blues”

(Image courtesy Bloomsbury)

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From Decatur CD

Dear Sugarland,

About five minutes before we started writing this letter, a customer walked in and inquired about your new CD/DVD release, Live on the Inside. “Do you know if it’s out yet?” she asked. We said that, yes, it was released Tuesday, but that we were not allowed to sell it. She’d have to go to Walmart to get it. “Walmart?” she replied, with an incredulous look. “Really?” She left disappointed, and frankly, we’re disappointed as well.

You guys have been around roughly as long as Decatur CD, and we’ve been supporters of your music from day one. We’ve put your releases on listening stations, given away tickets to your shows and so on. After all, what is a local music scene if not an extended family of sorts? We have to take care of each other.The point is that by shutting the door on independent record stores, you’re in effect shutting the door on your hometown.

We’re not naïve. We understand that exclusively releasing your music with Walmart means big, fat, non-returnable, guaranteed sales, a wide reach, a truckload of money, etc., but what do you get by cutting us out? We’ve read the articles; we understand you think we’re insignificant, offhandedly commenting that there are only “two or three” record stores left. But a lot of your fans in the city where you got your start think rather highly of us. They like to buy local. They like to support independent business.

Continue reading An Open Letter to Sugarland.

(Photo courtesy Sugarland)

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the Meat Puppets

On Tues., June 16, the Meat Puppets will hold an in-store meet-and-greet and play a few songs at Decatur CD around 6:30 p.m. before heading off to the play a show at the EARL later that night.

Of course there will be beer on-hand, and this Meat Puppet event doubles as a PAWS Atlanta benefit.

Some extra perks:
*Present your ticket for the show at the Earl and you’ll get an original, hand-drawn piece of artwork from the band.
*If you buy a copy of their new album, Sewn Together, or any of their previous titles while you’re there you get a signed poster.

Decatur CD is located at 356 W. Ponce De Leon Ave. near downtown Decatur. 404-371-9090.

(Photo courtesy Daffodill Publicity)

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Warren Hudson/The Owner LLC.com

My Mixtape

1. Tom Waits – “(Looking for) the Heart of Saturday Night”
2. Van Morrison – “The Healing Game/Domino”
3. The Clash – “London Calling”
4. Beatles – “A Day in the Life”
5. Yo La Tengo – “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind”
6. Dire Straits – “Telegraph Road”
7. Otis Redding – “Dock of the Bay”
8. Spoon – “Don’t Make Me a Target”
9. Wilco – “I’m the Man Who Loves You”
10. Byrds – “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” /Gram Parsons – “Hickory Wind”

My favorite Atlanta-based music act/band of the moment:
Gentleman Jesse & His Men - Getting better live with each show I see. Wonderful, uptempo pop songs with an edge.

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Criminal Records
466 Moreland 1154-A Euclid Avenue
404.215.9511
Week ending 2/28/2009

1) Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
2) Morrissey Years of Refusal
3) M. Ward Hold Time
4) Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavillion
5) Trail of Dead The Century of Self
6) Dan Averbach Auerbach Keep It Hid
7) Abe Vigoda Reviver
8) Anthony & the Johnsons The Crying Light
9) Dexter Romweber Duo Ruins of Berlin
10) Various Artists Dark Was the Night

Moods Music
1131 Euclid Ave.
404-589-9379
Week ending 2/27/09

1) Mabanua Done Already
2) The Foreign Exchange Leave It All Behind
3) Slakah the Beatchild Soul Movement Vol. 1
4) Samon Kawamura Unfold
5) Lalah Hathaway Self Portrait
6) V The Revelation Is Now Televised
7) Ledisi Soul Singer
8) Omar The Collection
9) Pete Rock The Surviving Elements
10) DJ Jamad Afromentals Presents: Fro Evah
(more…)

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Criminal Records
466 Moreland Avenue
404.215.9511

For week ending 2/20/2009

2. Morrissey Years of Refusal
3. M. Ward Hold Time
4. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavillion
5. Trail of Dead The Century of Self
6. Dan Averbach Keep It Hid
7. Abe Vigoda Reviver
8. Anthony & The Johnsons The Crying Light
9. Dexter Romweber Duo Ruins of Berlin
10. Various Artists Dark Was The Night

Decatur CD
356 W. Ponce de Leon Ave.
404.371.9090

For week ending 2/20/2009

1. Various Artists Dark Was The Night
2. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
3. Beirut March of the Zapotec
4. M. Ward Hold Time
5. Vertiver Tightly Knit

Wuxtry Records
2096 N. Decatur Road
404.329.0020

For week ending 2/20/2009

1. Bob Dylan Tell Tale Signs
2. Don Iver Blood Bank
3. Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique 20th Anniversary Edition
4. The Killers Day & Age
5. Miles Davis Kind of Blue

Big Oomp Records
1120 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW Ste. 2
404.755.5100

For week ending 2/20/2009

1. O.J. Da Juiceman Otha Side of The Trap

2. Beyonce I am Sasha Fierce
3. Jamie Foxx Intuition
4. Ludacris Theater of The Mind
5. DJ Unk Second Season

Sound Shop
816 Oak St. SW
404.752.9494

For week ending 2/20/2009

1. Charlie Wilson Uncle Charlie

2. Jamie Foxx Intuition
3. Anthony Hamilton Point of It All
4. Bobby Valentino Rebirth
5. India Arie Testimony Vol.2
6. T.I. Paper Trail
7. Beyonce I am Sasha Fierce
8. Keisha Cole A Different Me
9. Plies Da Realest
10. Musiq Soulchild ONMYRADIO

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Decatur CD
356 W. Ponce de Leon Ave.
404.371.9090

For week ending 7/17/2008

1. The Hold Steady Stay Positive
2. Beck Modern Guilt
3. Alejandro Escovedo Real Animal
4. Gentleman Jesse and His Men Gentleman Jesse and His Men
5. Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis Two Men With the Blues
6. The Baseball Project, Vol. 1 Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
7. The Homemade Jamz Blues Band Pay Me No Mind
8. She & Him Volume 1
9. Coldplay Viva La Vida
10. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes

Moods Music
1131 Euclid Ave.
404-653-0724

For week ending 7/18/2008

1. Naked Music Re-Creation
2. J*Davey The Beauty In Distortion/The Land Of The lost
3. Ledisi Lost & Found
4. JSoul Love Soldier
5. Osunlad Passage
6. Choklate Choklate
7. Esperanza Spalding Esperanza
8. Various Artists Verve Remixed, Vol. 4
9. Dain Harris/Brandon A Thomas For The Moment/Soul Acoustic
10. Tony Remy & Bluey First Protocol

(more…)

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Criminal Records
466 Moreland Avenue
404.215.9511

To 10 Album Sales for week ending 6/20/2008

1. Cold Play Viva La Vida
2. Silver Jews Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea
3. Wolf Parade At Mt Zoomer
4. Fleet Foxes S/T
5. Black Angels Directions to See a Ghost
6. Mudhoney The Lucky Ones
7. Supergrass Diamond Hoo Ha
8. Portishead Third
9. Vampire Weekend We, Vampire
10. OM Live at Jerusalem

Ella Guru Records
2993 N. Druid Hills Road
404.325.1350

For week ending 6/16/2008

1. My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
2. James Hunter The Hard Way
3. Emmylou Harris All I intended to Be
4. Orchestra Baobab Made in Dakar
5. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
6. Supergrass Diamond Hoo Ha
7. Sloan Parallel Play
8. Wooden Shjips Vol. I
9. Mogwai Young Team (Reissue)
10. Aimee Mann @#%&! Smilers

Decatur CD
356 W. Ponce de Leon Ave.
404.371.9090

For week ending 6/19/2008

1. Coldplay Viva la Vida
2. Emmylou Harris All I Intended to Be
3. My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
4. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
5. Teddy Thompson A Piece of What You Need
6. Lil Wayne Tha Carter III
7. The Homemade Jamz Blues Band Pay Me No Mind
8. Ladytron Velocifero
9. Martha Wainwright I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
10. Aimee Mann @#%&! Smilers

Wuxtry Records
2096 N. Decatur Road
404-329-0020

1. Coldplay Viva la Vida
2. Death Cab for Cutie Narrow Stairs
3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy Lie Down in the Light
4. Portishead Third
5. Weezer Red Album
6. She & Him Vol. 1
7. Dark Meat Universal Indians
8. My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
9. Wedding Present El Rey
10. Emmylou Harris All I Intended To Be

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Criminal Records
466 Moreland Ave.
404-215-9511

Top 10 best sellers for the week ending 09/15/07

1. Black Lips Good Bad Not Evil
2. Animal Collective Strawberry Jam
3. Kanye West Graduation
4. Okkervil River The Stage Names
5. Minus the Bear Planet of Ice
6. M.I.A. Kala
7. Pinback Autumn of the Seraphs
8. New Pornographers Challengers
9. The Go! Team Proof of Youth

Decatur CD
356 West Ponce de Leon Ave.
404-371-9090

Week ending 09/20/07

1. Kanye West Graduation
2. Mark Knopfler Kill to Get Crimson
3. Ben Harper Lifeline
4. The Coathangers The Coathangers
5. Pinback Autumn of the Seraphs
6. Brandi Carlile The Story
7. Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (three-disc deluxe reissue)
8. Mary Gauthier Between Daylight and Dark
9. Liars Liars
10. Akron/Family Love Is Simple

Earwax Records
565 Spring St.
404-875-5600

Week ending 9/18/07

1. Kanye West Gaduation
2. 50 Cent Curtis
3. Common Finding Forever
4. Emily King East Side Story
5. Talib Kweli Eardrum
6. Ledisi Lost & Found
7. Self Outside Project Jewels
8. Madlib Beatconducta 2
9. Christine Michelle I AM
10. Ne Yo Because

Wax N’ Facts
432 Moreland Ave.
404-525-2275

Week ending 09/17/07

1. Tiger! Tiger! The Kind of Goodnight
2. Donny Hathaway Collection
3. The Coathangers The Coathangers
4. Kanye West Graduation
5. Minus the Bear Planet of Ice
6. Animal Collective Strawberry Jam
7. Great Northern Trading Twilight for Daylight
8. 50 Cent Curtis
9. Pinback Autumn of the Seraphs
10. Simple Kid 2

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