Jack White of the White Stripes/Dead Weather, etc. is gearing up to release a solo album, Blunderbuss, on April 24. And this promo photo (dunno if it’s the album art or not, but I sure hope so) made me giddy about the beards & shaving section of United States of Americana all over again. As Wayne Coyne might say, “Thank you, Jack White…”

radvinylrecords:

Dalek I-Compass Kum’pas’ (Medical Records)

Buy it here: http://medical-records.org/store/

Dalek I - “Destiny (Dalek I Love You)” Sample by Medical Records LLC

Medical Records has given Dalek I’s Compass Kum’pas’ a new life on gorgeous hot pink 180 gram vinyl in a limited edition of 1000 hand numbered copies with great liner notes and the best bonus ever! a Flexi-disc of two b-sides. The general public may have all but forgotten Dalek I in favor of more successful groups like OMD and Kraftwerk but the music contained in these grooves is every bit as good if not better. This is a reissue of the 1980 lp featuring tracks that are dripping with melancholy mixed with tracks with very quirky and catchy lyrics. Obscure synths and drum machines create a synth pop sound that sounds so fresh and at times dance worthy. An insanely fun post-punk sounding rendition of the Kinks “You Really Got Me” even makes it into the mix. Find out for yourself what crate diggers have known for years Dalek I is essential.

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, “Frenzy”
Sonny Richard’s Panics w/ Cindy and Misty, “The Voo Doo Walk”
Björk, “Play Dead”
M83, “Graveyard Girl”
Ladytron, “Ghosts”
Book of Love, “Tubular Bells”
Sisters of Mercy, “Gimme Shelter”
The Head and the Heart, “Ghost”
Neko Case, “Things That Scare Me”
Johnny Cash, “Delia’s Gone”
The Louvin Brothers, “Knoxville Girl”
Mogwai, “How To Be A Werewolf”
Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
John Wesley Harding, “Goth Girl”
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Up Jumped the Devil”
The Decemberists, “Shankill Butches”
Johnny Dowd, “Murder”
Robert Johnson, “Hell Hound on My Trail”
Devo, “Peek-A-Boo”
Virgin Prunes, “Baby Turns Blue”
Replicants, “Destination Unknown”
Marc Almond & The Willing Sinners, “The House Is Haunted”
Austra, “Spellwork”
Craft Spells, “Your Tomb”
The Cure, “The Funeral Party”
The Soft Moon, “Total Decay”
Bush Tetras, “Things That Go Boom in the Night”
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds, “Rare As The Yeti”
The Sonics, “The Witch”
David Bowie, “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)”
R. Dean Taylor, “There’s A Ghost in My House”
Dusty Springfield, “Haunted”
Ben E. King, “Supernatural Thing, Pt. 1”
Otis Redding, “Trick Or Treat”
The Psychedelic Furs, “The Ghost in You”
Human League, “Darkness”
Broadcast, “Black Cat,”
Antony & The Johnsons, “Ghost”
Kate Bush, “Hammer Horror”
The Five Blobs, “The Blob”
Allan Sherman, “My Son, the Vampire”
Stephin Merritt, “Scream (Till You Make the Scene)”
Quiet Village, “Circus of Horror”
Gil Scott-Heron, “Me and the Devil”
The Damned, “Grimly Fiendish”
Spell, “Stone Is Very, Very Cold”
The Poppy Family, “There’s No Blood in Bone”
Public Image Ltd., “Death Disco”
Anika, “No One’s There”
Tom Waits, “What’s He Building?”
Altered Images, “Insects”
Jerry Dallman & the Knightcaps, “The Bug”
Blondie, “Attack of the Giant Ants”
The Muppets, “There’s A New Sound”
Tegan & Sara, “Walking With a Ghost”
Fred Schneider & The Shake Society, “Monster”
Noddy, “Demon Skull”
Future Bible Heroes, “I’m A Vampire”
Tullycraft, “If You Take Away the Make-up (Then the Vampires They Will Die)”
Oingo Boingo, “Weird Science”
Lou Reed, “Halloween Parade”

OMD, Washington

(Showbox Sodo) Liverpool duo OMD made some of the early 1980s’ finest synth pop, but touring was never a strong suit—the keyboards and computers integral to crafting Organisation and Architecture & Morality didn’t take kindly to the road. But as the band’s sound adapted to the stage, incorporating horns and live drums, the downward spiral begun with US breakthrough “If You Leave” accelerated, yielding forgettable albums like 1986’s The Pacific Age. Happily, technology has come a long way in the intervening quarter century, and what once required a fortress of synthesizers now fits on a single laptop. More importantly, OMD reverted to their classic template for the recent comeback History of Modern, so there’s no need to groan when they announce, “Here’s one from our new album.” KURT B. REIGHLEY

I’m working for Justin Robinson, formerly of African American string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops, on a new project. In the course of a long phone discussion yesterday, I learned that he not only operates his own frozen custard business, but that he’s also an avid embroiderer. This is a sample of his work.

My square is in the lower right hand corner, two spaces below the “N” in “chosen.” The one with stripes of yellow, pearl grey, and black-and-white checks. It was inspired by the classic sleeve for Ze Records disco 12-inches, and is dedicated to the memory of my friend Robert Penland and all the other groovy queens I lost to AIDS in my early adulthood.