It seems that the number of music stores in KC is dwindling as digital music purchases continue to grow. I am an avid music collector and wanted to create a list of local stores that still sell vinyl (LPs), CDs, etc. I tried to leave chain stores off the list...
Here is a list of music venues in the Kansas City (Missouri / Kansas) and Lawrence, KS area. I've included a brief review. My favorites are listed near the top.
Kansas City
Lawrence
Hope you enjoyed the list. Looking for input on this.
The 25 Formative Albums post started as a thread on the KMNR facebook group. Here are the 25 albums that shaped my music listening ears. The albums I would need on a deserted island. You get the point. This is something like my Top albums of all-time, but not exactly the same thing. In no particular order.
Nirvana - Nevermind (also In Utero)
Thurston Moore - Psychic Hearts
Black Sabbath- Paranoid
Sonic Youth - Experimental Jet Set Star
Tortoise- Millions Now Living Will Never Die
The Prayers & Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers - The Mother Of Love Emulates The Shapes Of Cynthia
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
The Notwist - Neon Golden
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Godspeed You Black Emperor!- F#A# Infinity
Mogwai- Come On Die Young
Smashing Pumpkins- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Guns n Roses - Use Your Illusion 1 & 2
Kraftwerk- Man Machine
The Velvet Underground- The Velvet Underground & Nico
I got back from SXSW in Austin, TX last Sunday night and have had a few days to
recover and gather my thoughts. This was my first time going and I
thought the entire festival was fantastic and extremely well run.
With over 2000 bands and 200 venues this was by far the biggest
festival I've ever attended. Of course you are left choosing which
shows you really want to see, which ones you can miss, and which ones
you can salvage. For the first three days, I travelled all over the
city and the last day was mainly reserved for the Hilton and the KC
showcase at Canvas because of extremely cold weather and rain (still
better than the snow they got in Kansas city). My transportation and
show mates Sherman, Matt, and Kaileen kept an agressive schedule with
the mindset that we'll sleep when we're dead. And this kept us going
and able to see a lot of shows. Much thanks goes to them for the ride
down there, the place to stay, and putting up with my shenanigans and
sometimes one-off show selections.
I just discovered this band JPT Scare Band while researching some heavy psych rock from the early 70s. Imagine my surprise when I discovered they were from Kansas City, MO. They're actually still playing and recording and call themselves "Lost Pioneers of Heavy Metal". Check out this amazing video for their song "Ramona", completed with some amazing animation and old clips of Kansas City. I believe that is the Nelson-Atkins Museum at one point in the video.
So my birthday was two months ago and I totally forgot to post this. It's a photo / video collage put together by my bastard friend Luke aka Lou. This was from a surprise birthday party at my own house. Thanks for throwing that guys and you couldn't have asked for a better host, err wait...
This list is a little bit late but at least I made my personal deadline of getting it in before baseball opening day. 2008 was a decent year for music. There weren't too many albums released that absolutely floored me but I still found some albums that I thoroughly enjoyed. Bradford Cox had an impressive year with two releases that made my top dozen with his bands Deerhunter and Atlas Sound. Kansas City locals The Republic Tigers put out one of the most impressive albums the city has ever heard. Mainstream favorites Beck, Santogold, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, and The Raconteurs put out albums good enough that even the biggest music snobs could also enjoy. I heard some interesting new electronic projects such as Starfucker, Crystal Castles, High Places, Empire of the Sun, Tussle, Ladyhawke, and Tobacco. More than anything though, I think I enjoyed hearing some of the releases put out by artists that have been around for a while but had slipped my attention before: Deerhunter, Mount Eerie, The Mae Shi, The Kills, and Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. My three finds of the year (stuff you probably haven't heard) would have to be Finnish collective Paavoharju, Absolutely Kosher weirdos Little Teeth, and San Diego rockers The Muslims - a band so fresh, they had to change their name to The Soft Pack after releasing their first album. Enjoy the list, feel free to comment, and here's to an awesome 2009!
The classic John Steinbeck depression-era novel adapted for film, with Henry Fonda and John Carradine.
Fantasia (1940)
6
I saw this as a kid and had forgotten how truly bizarre this film actually is. Basically it is Disney making a film showcasing classical music under the direction of Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra set with video to random Disney animated shorts. Everyone remembers the famous Mickey Mouse segment The Sorcerer's Apprentice, but there is so much other truly bizarre animation in this one. Do you remember the section about the natural history of the Earth from formation to the evolution of the first lifeforms into the creation and eventual extinction of the dinosaurs?
Do you remember the section about Greek mythology times and centaurs and (sometimes topless) centaurettes? Do you remember the Night on Bald Mountain segment where the demon Chernabog summons fire and lava to destroy the damned skeletons, witches, dragons, ghosts, and demons he has created? If not, then you might want to watch this one again.
This is one of the strangest Disney films ever I feel and one that I had mostly forgotten about.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
9
We're all familiar with the story of Bonnie and Clyde but this film does a great job of profiling the young bank robber couple and in brilliant color. It also showcases the young acting talent of Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, and even Gene Wilder.
The Wild Bunch (1969)
7
This western, starring William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, is a pretty good excuse to watch some amazing gun fights. I can't say that I especially cared for the plot but the shots of the wild west, railways, Mexico, and battle scenes made this one worth my while.
Sophie's Choice (1982)
9
Meryl Streep, as Sophie, accomplishes one of the best female acting performance ever (she deservedly won the Oscar that year too). I was blown away with how great she pulled off the Polish accent and I was immediately drawn to her sad sad character. This is a pretty depressing one (aren't all holocaust survivor dramas?) but I highly recommend it.
Tootsie (1982)
7
I rewatched this one recently since I hadn't seen it since I was a youngster. Sydney Pollack directs this film about struggling actor Michael Dorsey (played by Dustin Hoffman) who is out of work and assumes the role of Dorothy Michaels, a spunky say-what's-on-your-mind red-haired soap star. A young Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Bill Murray, and Geena Davis appear in this one, as well as Pollack himself. This film is moderately funny but probably not worthy of the AFI Top 100.
Stealing an idea from my friend Holly and Tripwire.com, I thought it would be good to take a look back at the albums released 10 years ago. This was a pretty pivotal time in my auditory life. It spanned my first and second years of college, a time when I devoured new music and discovered that there was so much other music out there instead of what they play on Top 40 radio. I'd known this for years but had yet to take that plunge. I tried out for my campus' free-format radio station and failed the interview process twice before finally being accepted. Some of the stuff on this list was actually still on the new rack when I started at the radio station, some of it I discovered a few months later, and some I didn't listen to for years. So yeah, 1998 was a pretty good year in music overall I think. My favorites are near the top. Feel free to comment any of your favorites...
