Brought straight to your desktops by Lee at Vinyl Fever.

VINYL:

AA Bondy – American Hearts
Their latest (2008) release, now available on vinyl.

Amon Duul II – Yeti
“Yeti” was the second album by Amon Duul II and is quite a musical achievement. This is a double LP set and contains some of Amon Duul’s most impressive work – delivering their thick, full-fledged, multi-layered sound with dense instrumentation and a certain epic vastness. This is Krautrock in the full depth of its power: huge, towering, dark and completely devoid of any happy optimism, but still bound full of energy. An essential bit of the psych/prog era. Released with the original artwork.

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Deluxe reissue features the original album remastered and a bonus disc of 12 rarities, live tracks and B-sides.

David Bowie – Man Who Sold The World
David Bowie – Pinups
High-end Simply Vinyl label pressings.

The Clash – The Clash
The Clash – Give ‘Em Enough Rope
The Clash – Combat Rock
High-end Simply Vinyl label pressings.

The Dead Weather – Horehound
The latest musical adventure by Jack White epitomizes the alt-rock ethic: do the music you love, do it yourself, and do it fast. The Dead Weather brings together lead singer Alison Mosshart (half of the London-based lo-fi post-punk duo The Kills), Queens Of The Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita, The Raconteurs’ bassist Jack Lawrence, and White on drums and vocals.

Iggy & The Stooges – More Power
Digitally remastered collection of rare studio recordings from the Raw Power era.

Son Volt – American Central Dust
Now available on vinyl.

CDs:

Beastie Boys – Ill Communication
Deluxe re-issue features eco-friendly packaging with the original album remastered and a bonus disc of 12 rarities, live tracks and B-sides.

David Bowie – VH1 Storytellers
The CD/DVD features Bowie’s original televised performance of eight songs, plus an additional four songs that had been taped, but were not featured during the original air date.

Clutch – Strange Cousins From The West
The first new studio release in over two years — features eleven brand new songs.

CunninLynguists – Strange Journey Volume One
New album from the hip-hop stars features appearances by Slug of Atmosphere, Killer Mike, Khujo of Goodie Mob and Fishscales of Nappy Roots.

Dandy Warhols – Dandy Warhols Are Sound
Think of this CD as the director’s cut of “Welcome To The Monkey House.”

Daughtry – Leave This Town
New album features the single “No Surprise.”

The Dead Weather – Horehound

Chico DeBarge – Addiction: Reality Music
Sultry R&B crooner’s new album is filled with the passion and intensity that encompasses Chico’s sensual delivery and style. “Addiction…” is infused with rich melodic and soulful production and features guest appearances from Joe and Talib Kweli.

Discovery – Discovery
Discovery is the recording project of Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend) and Wes Miles (Ra Ra Riot). Guest vocals from Ezra Koening (Vampire Weekend) and Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors). Elements of European electronic dance music skittering in double time over steady R&B. “Cascades of synths that belong on a My Bloody Valentine record and electronic flurries that sound like a flock of robins chirping incessantly on a spring morning.” – Pitchfork. Did they really write that, fer chrissakes?!!?

Iggy & The Stooges – More Power
Digitally remastered collection of rare studio recordings from the Raw Power era.

Jethro Tull – Living in the Past CD w/DVD
Recorded primarily at Hammersmith Apollo in Nov. 2001, 21 songs total.

Joe - Signature

Ricki Lee Jones – Pirates (Mofi issue)
New numbered, limited edition mini-LP-style packaging! Mobile Fidelity used the Original 1/4″ Analog Tapes to master this classic 1981 Album “Rickie Lee Jones’ Pirates arrives like a cloudburst in the desert of Eighties formula pop music and recycled heavy-metal rock.” So wrote Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone in his five-star review of the eclectic artist’s sophomore record — a 1981 set that continues to defy eras and styles. Accompanied by an all-star lineup that includes trumpeter Randy Brecker, Steely Dan icon Donald Fagen, session pro Victor Feldman, and legendary jazz arranger Ralph Burns, the singer-songwriter achieves a musical nirvana that encompasses post-bop, coffeehouse folk, bohemian pop, romantic soul, beat poetry, and Broadway showtunes. Albums with this kind of stylistic magnitude, close-up intimacy, and emotional intensity come around only once or so every decade. “Rickie Lee Jones is a real punk. She don’t need no haircut.” –Record store employee (co-worker), circa 1982

Judas Priest – Judas Priest: A Touch Of Evil Live
Features renditions of such Priest gems as “Riding On The Wind,” “Beyond The Realms Of Death,” “Dissident Aggressor,” “A Touch Of Evil,” “Eat Me Alive,” and the set-closing “Painkiller.” Also of note are the first live album appearances of standouts from Priest’s critically acclaimed 2008 concept double disc, “Nostradamus (Death And Prophecy)”.

Rolling Stones – Bridges To Babylon
Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels
Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge
Latest batch of Rolling Stones remasters.

Twista – Category F
New release features guest appearances from Kanye West, R. Kelly, Busta Rhymes, Lil Boosie, and others. Featured producers on the album include Kanye.

The Wood Brothers – Up Above My Head
Independently released CD of classic cover songs. On “Up Above My Head,” the Woods give reverence to a wide range of genres as filtered through their gentle, slightly lazy, but clearly appreciative groove. From folk songs like “Little Liza Jane” to a unique, old-timey take on the Beatles’ “Fixin’ a Hole,” Oliver and Chris make each track sound like good Wood.

Young MC – Stone Cold Rhymin’
20th Anniversary edition comes with six additional tracks not on the original LP.

Neil Young – After The Gold Rush
Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young – Harvest
Neil Young – Neil Young
Remastered reissues.

DVDs:

Cheap Trick – Every Trick In The Book
The video contains 17 tracks from 1977s “I Want You To Want Me” to two songs from the LP “Busted”.

Michael Jackson – Live in Japan

Rolling Stones – Biggest Bang 4xDVD
The last original studio album that the Stones released was A Bigger Bang back in 2005. Two years later, the band put out a four-disc concert DVD collection which was, essentially, a documentary of several shows from their 2005-2006 A Bigger Bang Tour.

They saved the not-a-dry-eye-in-the-house part for the very end. As the Michael Jackson memorial stretched just past two hours this afternoon, after a series of speeches and several emotional music performances, Jackson’s daughter approached the microphone, aunt Janet steadying her. Choking back sobs, 11-year-old Paris said, “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. I just want to say I love him so much.”

If that didn’t get to your tear ducts at least a little, you’ve got a pretty chilly heart.

The second-most famous Jackson, Janet, clad in a black dress and beret, was sad- or stone-faced every time on camera. She neither spoke nor performed. Michael’s brothers Jermaine and Marlon offered tributes, and Jermaine sang a teary rendition of what speaker Brooke Shields said was Michael’s favorite song: the Charlie Chaplin chestnut “Smile.”

Maybe I’ve reached Michael Jackson overload, but I stayed dry-eyed until Paris’ comments at the end.

The memorial got started at 1:33 p.m. Eastern, about a half hour late. The anticipated mobs outside the Staples Center in L.A. did not materialize as feared; police estimated about 50,000 were in or around the venue.

A gospel choir sang as the pallbearers carried in Jackson’s shiny, flower-strewn coffin. The lyrics sounded like “We are going to see the King,” and one wondered if the double meaning — God, the King; the King of Pop — was intended.

The podium speakers — from Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Al Sharpton, Queen Latifah (who read a Maya Angelou poem), two of Martin Luther King’s children and others — took a variety of approaches, from Sharpton’s fiery oratory to the more lighthearted remembrances of Gordy, Robinson and Magic Johnson.

Sharpton seemed intent on pushing the late Jackson for sainthood, saying that the people who were comfortable with Michael Jackson in their youth turned out, as 40-year-olds, to be comfortable with voting for an African-American for President. Sharpton pushed past the bounds of reality with the comment, “I would like to say to his three children there wasn’t nothing strange about your Daddy; it was strange what he had to deal with.”

The comment earned a long, standing ovation, probably appropriate in the context of a memorial, but essentially untrue. Michael Jackson was indeed a strange individual.

In fact, a few of the speakers chose to paint Jackson as a victim. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee exclaimed, “We know that people are innocent until proven otherwise.”

Usher, Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer (in a rather odd turn playing “Human Nature” on guitar) and others sang heartfelt tunes. The most stunning of all came courtesy of Stevie Wonder, seated at a piano. He sang “I Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer,” a ballad that Michael covered, and the rather obscure slow tune “They Won’t Go When I Go,” calibrating his performance with just the right measures of heartbreak and passion — and hitting notes in the upper register that a 59-year-old should not be able to reach.

in the end, the Michael Jackson memorial was about what I expected — not some kind of cathartic experience — and as fitting as I had hoped. There had been predictions that more than a billion people around the world would watch on TV. I’ll be anxious to see if such a staggering number came to pass.

No TV at the job? No worries. We’re streaming the Michael Jackson memorial here via Hulu. The stream starts at 12:55 p.m., so leave the window open or check back with us. Comment, comment, comment. I’ll be watching and weighing in.

I actually remember seeing this commercial on the air as a six-year-old boy in 1984. It sparked my desire and my need to own one of those red jackets. Also appearing in the commercial is Alfonso Ribeiro, Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

If “Michael Jackson” and “Pepsi ad” sound like something you’ve heard in the same sentence before, you’re probably recalling how in the same year, while recording a Pepsi commercial on stage in Los Angeles, Jackson was apparently seriously burned by malfunctioning equipment, which may or may not have led to some of his later plastic surgeries.

See the happier Pepsi ad below the jump:

Ten days after his death, Michael Jackson is the biggest story in the entertainment world. Some of you may be crying overkill, but I’m still keeping tabs. Here’s a series of the latest links I’ve come across.

Video of Jackson at his last rehearsals.

Jackson’s public memorial confirmed for L.A.’s Staples Center on Tuesday, July 7.

TV networks planning coverage of Jackson memorial.

Billboard: How Michael Jackson’s Thriller changed the music biz.

Billboard: Jackson will likely set more chart records.

Billboard: “Michael Jackson and MTV — The M once stood for Michael.”

Madonna honors Jackson during a show at same arena in London that he was to perform 50 shows.

Former L.A. Times music critic Robert Hilburn, who probably had more access to MJ than any other scribe, writes a remembrance.

Jackson news coverage touches on the tawdry side.

Random news bites from the last several days (excluding anything about Michael Jackson … well, mostly).

Regina Spektor’s new album, far, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 this week and the lovely Russian-born songstress is scheduled to perform on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on Thursday, July 30. Slipping to the No. 2 spot this week are the Jonas Brothers with Vines And Trying Times, which held last week’s No. 1 position. Black Eyed Peas have moved to the top of the charts with The E.N.D. And in case you BEP fans were worried, the title doesn’t foreshadow the band’s immenint break-up, but stands for “The Energy Never Dies.” Clever.

Seattle grunge metal makers Alice in Chains have confirmed the dates of their upcoming world tour, sans lead voice Layne Staley, who, if you recall, faded away into reclusivity before he speedballed to his death in 2002. The tour supports the band’s first new studio release in more than 10 years, Black Gives Way to Blue (in stores September 29). The first single, “A Looking View,” is currently streaming on their MySpace page and definitely has the feel of classic Alice in Chains, complete with the hard-meets-soft harmonies by vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrel and Staley replacement, vocalist/guitarist William Duvall. Here’s a statement the band released about the new song: “The song basically speaks to any number of things that keep you balled up inside. A cell of our own making with an unlocked door that we choose to remain in. Focusing our attention inward instead of reaching out to a much larger world. I think this is common to us all. It’s funny how hard we fight to hang on to a bone we can’t pull through a hole in the fence, or how difficult it is to put down the bag of bricks and move on.” Current confirmed U.S. stops include Detroit, DC, Chicago, NYC, Milwaukee, Portland and San Francisco. No telling whether the tour will bring them to Florida.

San Francisco indie rock duo The Dodos (pictured) are set to release their third album, Time To Die, via Frenchkiss on September 15. Produced by Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Fleet Foxes, The Shins), the album is marked by the band’s key instrumental elements — the energetic percussion of Logan Kroeber and the finger-picking acoustic guitar work of frontman Meric Long — with extra texture created by Keaton Snyder on vibraphone. The Dodos will embark hit the road this September and October, making stops in Tallahassee on Tuesday, October 6 at the Club Downunder, and in Atlanta Wednesday, October 7 at The Earl.

American-Australian multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter John Butler has returned with an all-new trio and a forthcoming album featuring the fresh lineup, which includes two Aussie natives: drummer/percusionist Nicky Bomba and bass player Byron Luiters. The John Butler Trio is not coming to a venue anywhere near you, but watch out for the new album. Butler’s a pretty great songsmith.

Jeff Tweedy has always gotten under my skin. As much as I like Wilco’s music, the frontman makes headlines far too often for some asshole maneuver — like when he punched an over-rowdy fans in the face when a simple “Get the fuck off my stage” would’ve sufficed — and he oftentimes comes off as a total dick and says mean things he can’t take back. The latest was the sort of stereotypical ugliness you’d expect towards the hippies of San Francisco. After his son Spencer went shopping in Berkeley and returned dressed head-to-toe in tie-dye, Tweedy reportedly cried, “Look what you’ve done to my son, you dirty hippies!” Then, to his son, he yelled, “Now go take a bath.” What a classy guy!

All right, I know I promised no Michael Jackson news, but I just had to share this little tidbit: Jermaine Jackson, Michael’s far less successful older bro, has followed the path of the rest of the family and made a statement. “”He went too soon. I don’t know how people are going to take this, but I wish it was me.” What I want to know is, when did Jermaine lose his sense of self-worth? Poor guy.

It’s just like the old days. Michael Jackson is ruling the charts.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks record sales, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 units last week, mostly in the time between the Friday after his death and Sunday night, when scanning for the week closed. 58 percent of the sales were digital downloads.

Because Jackson’s titles are not eligible for the Billboard 200, they are relegated to the Pop Catalog chart, where he holds the top nine positions. Three of his titles — Number Ones, Thriller and The Essential Michael Jackson — exceeded 100,000 in sales, outpacing Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. (88,000), which claims No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It’s the first time that a catalog album has outsold the No. 1 on the 200, the survey of current albums. This week, Jackson has done it three times over.

Additionally, Jackson titles hold the first four positions on the Digital Albums chart, and six of the Top 10

Read more.

It used to be that MTV would overplay videos to such a degree that it was impossible not to know the latest singles by Madonna, or Prince, or Michael Jackson (may he RIP). Those artists blew wads of cash to make miniature movies for their songs. (Michael and sister Janet’s 1995 acclaimed video duet, “Scream,” cost $7 million alone to produce.)

Nowadays, MTV doesn’t play videos so much as it airs clips of them during the closing credits of its neverending reality TV programming, so many artists have turned to YouTube to get the vids out and are likely alot more budget conscious when making them. The results vary from fun and inspired to downright garbage. Here’s a look at two Moby videos created in support of his ninth album (out today on Little Idiot). I’ve also included a preview clip of Bjork’s live Voltaic CD/DVD release. (Complete clips from the DVD would be nice but sadly, there are leaked or uploaded as yet.)

Artist: Moby
Album: Wait for Me
Songs: “Shot in the Back of the Head,” “Pale Horses.”
Both of Moby’s new singles have intrigued me with their raw electro-meets-organic feel. The video for “Shot in the Back of the Head” is David Lynch’s dark and abstract translation of the song, which is rather gloomy all on its own; and “Pale Horses,” the second single with haunting female vocals by Amelia and melancholy overtones, is directed by Elanna Allen and follows a lonely alien who takes a train to the moon to find some companions. Both are animated, but in very different styles.
Grade: A for both; the music was good and the videos compelling enough to make me want to check out Moby’s new album. (CHECK OUT THE VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP).

Artist: Bjork
Album: Voltaic
Songs: None. It’s a preview of the DVD, though apparently there are some videos included in it. I read this on Amazon and actually became interested in checking it out: “The New York Times called it ‘a 21st-century assemblage of the computerized and the handmade, the personal and the global.’ Voltaic, then, is a remarkable, multi-media document of what happened after the record was completed, a journey of a different sort as the ever-evolving singer assembled her live band, made a collection of typically amazing videos and one-step-ahead remixes, and toured the world for two years, making headline appearances at diverse venues and large festivals, including Glastonbury, Coachella and even Harlem’s Apollo Theatre.”
Grade: NONE; the preview was good and all, but what about the videos?!?! Release some of those babies!

According to industry insiders, three Michael Jackson albums — Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller — each sold 100,000 copies last week. The sales tracking week ended at the close of business on Sunday (June 28) night and will be reported today. That means the bulk of the sales took place in the three days after Jackson’s death.

Those six-figure tallies would’ve put the three discs at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on the Billboard 200 —slightly ahead of the Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D. — but catalog albums are not eligible for the album sales chart, so Jackson will instead dominate the Pop Catalog survey.

Read more.

Ed. Note: What follows is a repost of an item by CL Marketing Director Joran Oppelt from his recent trip to SXSW. At the time, I thought it was just a really cool video. Today I think it’s become something more. You can see Joran’s original post here.

Quincy recalls his first encounters with Michael Jackson and their work on the best-selling records Off the Wall and Thriller, as well as the birth of MTV and how they broke through the “no black artists” mandate.

This exclusive CL TV video was shot in March at Jones’ 2009 South by Southwest keynote address. Video after the jump …