B-Side

25 years ago today, Rilo Kiley released “Take Offs and Landings”. Co-led by songwriters Jenny Lewis (25) and Blake Sennett (27), this self-produced album by the L.A. indie-rock quartet arrived two years after a nine-track EP. This debut full-length (13 track) album didn’t sell many copies but earned good reviews (apart from Pitchfork’s original 4.0 of 10 assessment, which 20 years later was “revised” to 8.0 of 10). Fan-favorite tracks include “Bulletproof” “Pictures of Success” "Always" “Don’t Deconstruct” “Wires and Waves” + “Science vs. Romance”. More in Comments.

This week’s New Releases: Robyn Hitchcock solo live-in-studio acoustic; Shaboozey; GA-20 with Charlie Musselwhite; Rain Parade EP ARCHIVAL: WEEN ‘96 deluxe; Joan Jett ‘81; Miles Davis ‘86; Green Day documentary soundtrack

July 31 Birthdays: Roy Milton b.1907; Hank Jones b.1918; Ahmet Ertegun b.1923; Kenny Burrell is 95; Lobo is 83; Gary Lewis is 80; Karl Green (Herman's Hermits) is 79; Hugh McDowell (ELO / Wizzard) is 73; Daniel Ash (Bauhaus / Love and Rockets) is 69; Bill Berry (R.E.M.) is 68; Stanley Jordan is 67; Malcolm Ross (Josef K / Orange Juice) is 66; Fatboy Slim is 63; Fuzz Townshend (Pop Will Eat Itself) and Jim Corr (The Corrs) are 62; Lisa Kekaula (The Bellrays) is 59; John 5 (Marilyn Manson / Rob Zombie) is 55; Leona Naess is 52; Joshua Cain (Motion City Soundtrack) is 50; Will Champion (Coldplay) and José González (Junip) are 48; M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold) is 45; Jeff DaRosa (Dropkick Murphys) is 44; Shannon Curfman is 41; Lil U*i Vert is 32.

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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30 years ago today, Sublime released their self-titled third studio LP (our copy here). It was the L.A. ska-punk band’s last proper album with frontman Bradley Nowell, who died two months prior to release at 28. “Sublime” earned good reviews, eventually reaching #18 Billboard, featuring hit singles “Santeria” “Wrong Way” + “What I Got”. This remains their most popular title, selling over 7 million copies in the States alone, even though the band could not tour and had essentially ceased to exist. Later, SPIN ranked this 48th Greatest Album of the 1990s; Rolling Stone 25th. More in Comments.

July 30 Birthdays: Big Jack Johnson b.1940; Chris Darrow (Kaleidoscope / Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and Jimmy Cliff b.1944; David Sanborn b.1945; Kevin Mahogany b.1958; Dave Riley (Big Black) b.1960; Buddy Guy is 90; James Spaulding is 89; Paul Anka is 85; Jeffrey Hammond (Jethro Tull) is 80; Otis Taylor is 78; Duck Baker is 77; Rat Scabies (The Damned) is 71; Don Bolles (Germs) is 70; Neal McCoy and Kate Bush are 68; Ron Block (Union Station) is 62; Louise Wener (Sleeper) and Craig Gannon (The Smiths) are 60; Sean Moore (Manic Street Preachers) is 58; Brad Hargreaves (Third Eye Blind) is 55; Seth Avett (Avett Brothers) is 46.

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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Released 55 years ago: “Charity Ball” by F***y (our copy here). Arriving eight months after their debut, this second LP by the pioneering L.A. all-woman rock band was their first to chart ( #150 Billboard) boosted by the hit title single ( #40). Apart from a Buffalo Springfield cover, all songs are original. All four members sang & played; no session musicians. They were ages 20-24. Reviews are excellent. Fun facts: The Runaways, The Bangles & The Go-Go’s have all cited F***y as influential. Lowell George was known to jam with them when in L.A., and David Bowie was an enthusiastic fan. The award-winning documentary film “F***y: The Right to Rock” premiered five years ago. The snapshot of the band in late-19th century attire (lower left on the LP cover) was taken by actress Candice Bergen, who was around the same age as the band members. More in Comments.

July 29 Birthdays: Charlie Christian b.1916; Jim Marshall (Marshall Amplification) b.1923; Randy Sparks (The New Christy Minstrels) b.1933; Joe Beck b.1945; Sal Maida b.1948; John Sykes (Whitesnake) b.1959; Neal Doughty (REO Speedwagon) is 80; Patti Scialfa (E Street Band) and Geddy Lee (Rush) are 73; Michel Benita is 72; Martin McCarrick (This Mortal Coil / Therapy?) is 64; Woody Weatherman (Corrosion of Conformity) is 61; Martina McBride and Miles Hunt (The Wonder Stuff) are 60; Chris Gorman (Belly) is 59; Simon Jones (The Verve) is 54; Wanya Morris (Boyz II Men) is 52; Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley / Broken Bells) is 49.

Farewell Glen Hansard of The Frames, The Swell Season, solo projects, plus the 2007 film Once. Gone at 56.

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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Farewell Glen Hansard, beloved folk-rock singer songwriter of The Frames, The Swell Season, solo projects, as well as co-star in the 2007 film "Once" featuring the Oscar winning song "Falling Slowly". He died in a motorcycle accident today in his hometown Dublin Ireland. Gone at 56.

40 years ago today, R.E.M. released "Lifes Rich Pageant” (our copy here). Produced by Don Gehman, this fourth studio LP reached #21 Billboard ( #43 UK). It featured two chart singles: "Fall On Me" + "Superman" (a cover of the 1969 song by Austin band The Clique) - with almost universal praise from critics. Slant magazine ranked it 52nd Best Album of the 1980s; PopMatters included it on their list ‘12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums’. The guys were ages 26-29. The cover art is a 'split-screen' with a distressed photo of drummer Bill Berry’s head above a sepia-toned pair of bison. More in Comments.

July 28 Birthdays: Rudy Vallée b.1901; Ikey Robinson b.1904; Frankie Yankovic b.1915; Ray Ellis b.1923; Irving Burgie b.1924; Junior Kimbrough b.1930; George Cummings (Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show) b.1938; Mike Bloomfield (The Electric Flag) and Richard Wright (Pink Floyd) b.1943; Peter Doyle (The New Seekers) and Steve Peregrin Took (Tyrannosaurus Rex) b.1949; T.M. Stevens b.1951; Buddy Spicher is 88; Jonathan Edwards is 80; Gerald Casale (Devo) is 78; Simon Kirke (Free / Bad Company) is 77; Roy Rogers is 76; Gregg Giuffria (Angel) is 75; Floyd Domino (Asleep at the Wheel) is 74; Steve Duncan (Desert Rose Band) is 73; Nnenna Freelon and Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs / Deep Purple) are 72; Gerald Veasley is 71; Dan Warton (Ned’s Atomic Dustbin) and Rachel Sweet and Reggie Washington are 64; Beverley Craven is 63; Delfeayo Marsalis and Nick Banks (Pulp) are 61; Takashi Hirose (Feeder) is 59; Stephen Lynch is 55; Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) is 50; Soulja Boy is 35.

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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Released 45 years ago today: “Bella Donna” by 33-year-old songwriter Stevie Nicks. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, this debut solo LP was recorded over several sessions, arriving nearly two years after Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk”. Bella Donna climbed the Billboard chart for about five weeks before reaching #1; it then floated in the Top 200 for nearly three years. Its biggest singles were “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” ( #3, duet with Tom Petty); “Leather and Lace” ( #6, duet with Don Henley) + “Edge of Seventeen” ( #11). Primary musicians include Waddy Wachtel, Davey Johnstone, Mike Campbell + Tom Petty (guitars), Benmont Tench & Roy Bittan (keys), Bob Glaub (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums). Reviews are generally good. More in Comments.

July 27 Birthdays: Skippy Williams b.1913; Henry ‘Homer’ Haynes (Homer and Jethro) b.1920; Bob Thiele b.1922; Bob Morse (The Hi-Lo’s) b.1923; Guy Carawan b.1927; Harvey Fuqua (The Moonglows) b.1929; Andy White b.1930; Nick Reynolds (The Kingston Trio) b.1933; Allan Ramsay (Gary Lewis & the Playboys) b.1943; Barbara Thompson (Colosseum) b.1944; David Muse (Firefall / The Marshall Tucker Band) b.1949; Conway Savage (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) b.1960; Karl Mueller (Soul Asylum) b.1962; Young Dolph b.1985; Andy McMaster (The Motors) is 85; Bobbie Gentry is 84; Maureen McGovern and Henry "H-Bomb" Weck (Brownsville Station) are 77; Mick Vaughan (Paper Lace) is 76; Steven Gluzband is 74; Edward Wilkerson (Ethnic Heritage Ensemble / 8 Bold Souls) is 73; Duncan Cameron (The Amazing Rhythm Aces / Sawyer Brown) is 70; Karrin Allyson is 63; Ron Jackson and Rex Brown (Pantera) are 62; Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies) is 59; Abe Cunningham (Deftones) is 53; Pete Yorn is 52; Fred Mascherino (Taking Back Sunday) is 51; Cheyenne Kimball (Gloriana) is 36.

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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Recorded in Houston 65 years ago today: “Blues in My Bottle” by 49-year-old Lightnin’ Hopkins. By then one of the most prominent Texas bluesmen, this solo acoustic session stands apart from much of the fingerstyle guitarist’s work as a primarily electric player. The material here is mainly his take on traditional songs, though he did write about a third of the tracks. Reviews are very good. Issued on Bluesville / Prestige Records. More in Comments.

July 26 Birthdays: Erskine Hawkins b.1914; Alberta Adams b.1917; Moacir Santos b.1926; Joe Jackson (Jackson 5) b.1928; Charlie Persip b.1929; Yomo Toro b.1933; Al Banks (The Turbans) b.1937; Bobby Hebb b.1938; Dobie Gray b.1940; Brenton Wood b.1941; Andrea True b.1943; Betty Davis b.1944; Ron Peno (Died Pretty) b.1955; Joanne Brackeen is 88; Darlene Love is 85; Mick Jagger (The Cockroaches) is 83; Al Anderson (NRBQ) is 79; Roger Taylor (Queen) is 77; Gary Cherone (Extreme) and Andy Connell (Swing Out Sister) are 65; Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Altan) and Miranda Joyce (The Belle Stars) are 64; Andy Timmons is 63; Jim Lindberg (Pennywise) is 61; Joan as Police Woman is 56; Wayne Wonder is 54; Dan Konopka (OK Go) and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) are 52; Dave Baksh (Sum 41) is 46; Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless) is 34; Annelies Howell (German Art Students) is ??

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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Released in the States 20 years ago today: “Savane” by Ali Farka Touré (our copy here). Long considered one of the most important practitioners of what is known as “desert blues,” this became the final project by the renowned West African (Mali) guitarist (he was taken by cancer four months prior to release). Savane topped the World Music Europe Chart for three months while earning widespread praise, averaging a remarkable 94 of 100 score from eleven published critics, via Metacritic; also topping their “Best of 2006” poll. This was also nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album Grammy. Fun facts: Touré was ranked 76th Greatest Guitarist of All Time by Rolling Stone; 37th by SPIN. More in Comments.

July 25 Birthdays: Walter Brennan b.1894; Johnny Hodges b.1906; Benny Benjamin (The Funk Brothers) b.1925; Annie Ross (Lambert, Hendricks & Ross) b.1930; Don Ellis b.1934; Manny Charlton (Nazareth) b.1941; Tom Dawes (The Cyrkle) b.1943; Steve Goodman b.1948; Randall Bewley (Pylon) b.1955; Bruce Woodley (The Seekers) is 84; Jim McCarty (Yardbirds / Renaissance) is 83; José Areas (Santana) and Rita Marley are 80; Mark Clarke is 76; Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire) is 75; Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) is 68; Maureen Herman (Babes in Toyland) is 60; Trevor Peres (Obituary) is 57; Brian Blade is 56; Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets) is 53; Brian Gibson (Lightning Bolt) is 51; Kalia Vandever is 31; Pip Blom is 30.

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

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Released 25 years ago today: “Global a Go-Go” by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. Joe (48) had formed the band in Britain two years prior and this became their second and final album issued during Strummer’s lifetime. As the title suggests, this project infused world music styles into their alt-folk-rock. Reviews are generally good. The single: “Johnny Appleseed”. Other fan-favorite tracks include “Mondo Bongo” “Bummed Out City” “Bhindi Bhagee” + the title track, on which (fun fact) Roger Daltrey sings. Cover design by Josh Shoes & Strummer. More in Comments.

This week’s New Releases: Charli XCX; Punch Brothers; Girl Scout; Tyla; The Hu; Sooj; Kelz; River Shook; Charles Lloyd; Ralph Alessi; Domi & JD Beck; ARCHIVAL: NRBQ ‘73; Gordon Lightfoot ‘76; X-Ray Spex ‘77; The Kinks ‘79; Seam ‘92; Codeine ‘92; Grandaddy ‘00 + ‘03; Bring Me The Horizon ‘08 & ‘10; David Bowie ‘16; all five Mojave 3 albums remastered

July 24 Birthdays: Billy Taylor b.1921; Heinz (The Tornados) b.1942; Garry Shider (Parliament / Funkadelic) b.1953; Mick Karn (Japan) b.1958; Charles McPherson is 87; Jim Armstrong (Them) is 82; Lynval Golding (The Specials) is 75; Jon Faddis is 73; Pam Tillis and Larry Gott (James) are 69; Paul Geary (Extreme) is 65; Kristin Chenoweth is 58; Jennifer Lopez is 57; Joel Stroetzel (Killswitch Engage) is 46; Mitch Grassi (Pentatonix) is 34; Cathy Dethmers (Bon Squad / Hottt Probs) is ??

Notice: B-Side is OPEN Mon-Thurs 10-6 / Fri+Sat 10-7 / Sunday 11-5. Email [email protected] or message here to support our shop with any Vinyl, CD, t-shirt or gift card orders, for pickup or shipment to your home. Thank you for shopping local 🙂

If you enjoy our human-written (no AI) daily posts celebrating historic albums, songs & artist birthdays, please invite your friends to follow the B-Side page, thanks