I was stabbed by a pitchfork festival

It began with a car ride
Into the city
On a warm and pleasant
Friday afternoon

Water bottles
Blanket
And a backpack

Don’t leave the ticket on the dashboard
Time to go for a hike
Through the concrete jungle
Then stand in line
Before the Pitchfork gates

Is this the right line?

The music vibrates in the background
As bags are checked for cannabis
Paraphernalia and weapons
Bar codes are scanned

“That’s a really colorful looking blanket,” the old man says

Port-O-Johns are everywhere
Some serious shit is about to start!

A basketball court
Is a social one?
With vendors
Giant Twinkie Man dancing around
Long line for a free shirt
Silk screened
Cool graphic arts
Ice cream
Cupcakes
Video games

All of this enjoyed without spending
A single dime

Guy waving a NICE big flag
Handing out granola bars
Saving the wallet from depletion

A couch made out of green grass
They’re giving away sweat bands and bandannas
Stickers
Free codes to download
Local tunes

If you want to drink beer
Buy tickets
Get a bracelet

Big pretzel
Sitting on a pool
Of Wisconsin beer cheese
Johnny Appleseed
Made some hard cider
Yummy

Hipsters with beards
Gothic girls in black
Tight leather pants (in the humidity)
Wild colorful hair
Tattoos galore!

A young man reciting poetry
At a tent
Extremely long line
To fill up your empty bottle
With some pure water

It’s a festival for three days
Positive vibes are promoted
Comfortable atmosphere
Many fun experiences
There are maps
Helping everyone figure out
Where to go
Or get lost at a record show
With over a dozen vendors
Selling their wax covered goodies

Three stages
Over forty artists and acts
Tons of music

There are unique and rare finds
Treasures
Its for the music lovers
Getting exposed to some really cool stuff

Who is this band?

Neneh Cherry…did you know she’s related to Eagle Eye? She’s only played in the U.S. one other time? That’s crazy! She played her nostalgic tune “Buffalo Stance” from the late 80’s in a very modern rhythmic way. But she also promoted her first album in 18 years that is really funky, smooth, jazzy, soulful and kind of trip-hop. By the way…I met her and got her autograph. It was cool.

Sharon Van Etten…her music is gloomy especially for this summer fest. But you know what? Who cares! She was awesome!! I totally dig her albums! ARE WE THERE and TRAMP where worth showcasing? She has a pretty voice and plays the guitar rather well. AWESOME!

Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks…weird music side project of the band Animal Collective!

Circulatory System…really heady music and psychedelic stuff in a Beatles dipped in an acid bath sorta way. But good.

Beck…hushed melancholy of new and then jacked up energy of his wacky old hits! (it worked!) I’m a loser Beck so why don’t you THRILL me?

Cloud Nothings…I dig thier stuff, just a little boring for me….live anyway.

tUnE-yArDs….nothing like I ever heard before! British girl named Merrill Garbus. When she’s performing her art live, Garbus creates trippy drum loops on the spot, and combines these with the ukuleleas well as vocals, in addition to electric bass. But its really tribal sounding. Like Jamaican or African sounding but also really poppy!

Hundred Waters….similar to Sigur Ros but more feminine and its like dream pop and relaxing.

Factory Floor….definitley sounds really acid housey and some audience members decided to participate in the fun! Check out this clip: http://youtu.be/C2pEmFzW3Ik

Giorgio Moroder….he’s a living Italian legend. Godfather of EDM and synth disco! He mixed up some cool Donna Summers and Daft Punk tunes! The crowd went wild for him!

BUT NOW…..THE ONE….THE ONLY……ST. VINCENT!!!! Holy crap is she freaking awesome!!! Annie Clark is the best guitar player I have heard in more than a decade. She is such an actress on stage freaking out acting like a robot princess and then collapses on stage, drops her guitar, gets pissed off and then gets happy when a new guitar is presented to her. Lots of smoke, colors and thrashing on those fuzzy wuzzy guitars that she mechanically plays with such a rocking smooth attitude! She invents brand new sounds that most guitar noises don’t make. Best live show I have seen. Pink Floyd at soldier field 20 years ago is the only other show that was as good as this. And she only played for an hour. She’s a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. On stage she just had 2 other people: a drummer and co-guitarist/synth player to back up her wild and crazy show! My words cannot possibly do her justice. She WAS the reason I went to the Pitchfork Music Festival. Loved it!

 

Then I fell apart from my brain exploding
And then I shattered mentally
A night drive home with Syd Barrett tunes to comfort me
To sleep off the intense buzz
with memories of blissfulness
In my head……

The Defenders of Vinyl Records

When I was a small boy growing up, my mom and dad played records all the time. But if I told this to some kid on the street, his response would  be something like, “What the hell are those things?” So let me educate you. Dating back to 1877 when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, this device reproduced and recorded the sounds of music like no other. There ‘s much debating over digital quality versus analog (vinyl records). I have both. In fact I have way more mp3’s and CD formats than I do records. But up until the early 1990’s, vinyl was the most popular medium for buying music. I enjoy vinyl records because of the novelty of the crackles, hiss and pops. The combination of the needle and the record, create this beautiful harmony that transports you back in time to the old ways of our forefathers.

I especially remember that my mom and dad’s record player could hold up to five of those 12-inch albums at a time and after one finished playing; the next one resting in the queue device would drop down and play. That memory is so clear in my head. Anticipation of each track was an electrifying thing, like I was sliding on the surface of that large disc spinning around.

I have a friend named Mark who sums up his recollection of  listening to records, “Nostalgia of my childhood and looking through my brother’s albums and pouring over the lyrics.” I am sure that the defenders of vinyl can relate to those kinds of moments. I have always cherished the artwork that is plastered on the front and back of the album jackets. Sometimes inside you’ll find a thin booklet with the tracks, song lyrics and occasionally there would even have a brief write up about the album inside.

My grandpa had this antique radio/record stereo.  A Victrola made by the Victor Talking Machine Co. and the precursor to RCA Victor. Grandpa would play these old records from the 30’s and 40’s on it. Comedy and Jazz music is what I remember or maybe it was Swing. After all, he and grandma went square dancing so maybe that’s the kind of music he enjoyed playing. It sure was a big honking thing! It collected a bunch of dust too. But nonetheless it was a neat thing that played  78’s. The number signifies how many rotations per minute it spins around. This was quite  a spectacular device he had.

The needle scratching on an album, freshly pulled from its sleeve, used to be something only the older folks enjoyed, but that’s changing. Vinyl records sales are on a rising trend. It seems as though the media has finally woken up. I feel that people like me are starting to despise music in general today because it’s intangible leaving us music lovers to feel empty and lost. Another music buff, Brian from my high school days related this to me, “I still enjoy CD’s. I just feel that if I am going to spend money on an album I would like to have something physical in return for the money I paid unlike buying an MP3 album. Also, the liner notes/lyrics are nice to have and read while listening to the album. I’d probably feel the same about vinyl but I am not ready to start buying all of the albums I own on CD again on vinyl.”

Vinyl is not just limited to your mom and dad’s old Donna Summer or Jethro Tull LP’s or what is known as a long-playing microgroove record. A wide variety of artists, past and present, are on the cover of these albums. So why on earth would anyone want to hear the new Katy Perry album on a turntable when one can easily and possibly illegally download the music? Simply put, more folks are acquiring a taste for the analog sound. It’s richer and has a lot more human elements about it.

Personally, I feel that digital is not as good as analog. Many disagree with my sentiments for the quality of wax cuts. They say that, with digital technology, the sound is cleaner and crisp. That may be true. Digital music is just so robotic, automatic and it’s way less emotional. How do you connect with….ummm……..air? There is no fear related to digital music.  No need to be careful how you handle mp3’s at all. That’s what you miss with digital technology. There is a secret thrill of possibly destroying your record by scratching it.

The sizzle of success when laying the needle down is pure enjoyment that no one on the face of the earth can contest that an iPod is anywhere near as dangerously thrilling as that. I say this because the analog sound has an impact on how one feels because it connects to emotions in a warm and fuzzy sort of feeling. My friend and college roommate Brett once said, “The crackling sound the needle makes at the exact moment it makes contact with the record is something I will always cherish. You don’t get that sound with any other medium.” I couldn’t agree more.

Just pick an album on LP and see if it reminds you of something wonderful in your life: a first date, first kiss, or your teenage years. Mine was hearing Michael Jackson’s Thriller for the first time in the autumn while the fireplace was burning and we had just gotten back home from a haunted house. As a seven year old, I was bedazzled. Those are the memories you cant buy. Those are the things that records provide. With an LP, one feels the music more, and it generally enhances any previous appreciation for the music. What is the driving force behind vinyl’s rebirth? The sound? Not necessarily. I think it’s more of the relationship with tactile memories and the simple beauty of this kind of sensory experience with music.

Sometime around 2007, records made a comeback. They are now being produced more and more today. Out here in the burbs of Chicago there are still mom and pop shops selling records. There are several record shows held in hotel convention halls for the privilege of browsing through those rare and old collections of vinyl. Even kids in junior high today are making comments like, “Haven’t you heard the NEW rave? All the cool kids have these things called records!” As endearing that is to hear, I hate to break it to those 13 year old kids that when I was in junior high and even when my dad was in junior high, we were already familiar with these things called records. But it’s nice to know that this old technology is truly connecting with today’s culture.

Album sales at independent record stores always seem to rise during the weekend of Record Store Day, which occurs annually on the third Saturday of April, as a tribute to these independent record stores. We just experienced the fifth anniversary of this event last weekend. I was there and it was like a nice little street party in the middle of the night. Probably 200 of us showed up to grab some wax music. I grabbed some real nice treats. One of which I will explore in greater detail in my next blog entry. So whether its a popular thing or not a fashion at all, vinyl continues to prevail. I understand now that this kind of style is a reflection of American culture and that people just want to hold on to it’s beauty.

Originally published on 4/26/12