Celebrating the second anniversary of my very first participation year in @brandudesrecordvault’s seemingly annual #smarchvinylchallenge.

Day 1-Pulling myself from the bowels of what I think might’ve been norovirus to provide humble submission to @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge

Today’s prompt is Defining Moment, an album for a pivotal moment in life. I’ve chosen Atom and His Package “Redefining Music” circa 2001. Insert anecdote here, I can’t today.

Lollipops and rainbows, fellow smarchy vinyl challengers.

Day Two: Amuse Buche-a single or EP.
A perfect cure for a Lousy Smarch is the Summertime Blues.

Zach Bryan- Summertime Blues (EP) 2022

#smarchvinylchallenge@brandudesrecordvault 

Day 3: Gone Viral (something you discovered during the pandemic) @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge

Some folks were shooting up bleach and shamelessly dancing for likes on the interwebs.
Me? I somehow stumbled on these doped up little mellow lemons to soothe my honey bones.

Dope Lemon- Honey Bones (2016)

Day 4 of @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge
Cornerstone: A record you’ve had in your collection a long time.

I can’t think of a more smarchy morning with rain and fog before a predicted snow. Some hot Tijuana Brass, a cornerstone of so many vinyl enthusiasts collections, should fix that right up.

Day 5: An Album That Shocks You

Squares? John Mayer? …what?

Yes, and hear me out on this one.

He’s legit a phenomenal guitar player.

And as mostly unmoving as this specific album is (to me), I’m always mind blown when I explore some of John Mayer’s actual blues-oriented work, even just a handful of years after this dentist office light rock style album was released. I think the fun part with Room for Squares is that if you listen real close, like neck-craningly ear-strainingly close, and past some of the lyrical nonsense and his breathy smarmy voice, you can truly hear emerging little blips of the good stuff to come a bit later in his career. It’s kind of fun to absorb that sound in hindsight, which sounds nerdy but it’s true.

Did you also know he had a tv show? Only for one episode of one season, but it was sincerely funny. (Every once in a while in the 00s, they’d play it as a rerun on VH1—but you can also find it on YouTube.) Plus, he had rapper Trick Daddy, one of the top five daddies in hip hop, on one of his segments.

Anyway, bbbSsssBbprrrb. That’s supposed to be an electrical current. This is a shocking most appropriate for a lousy snowy smarch day..

Day 6 “Got Me Blushing” (something naughty, dirty, racy, offensive…)

WAP…The opportunity to post this has presented itself a handful of times to me, and every single time at least one person got mad.

It would be an absolutely smarchy thing to post it again. Let the pearl clutching begin.

Day 7 of @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge asks for “Charged-an album that gets you fired up.”

Good smarchy Friday morning, how about something that absolutely rocks from the Holy Triumvirate?

“Begin the day with a friendly voice/
A companion, unobtrusive/
Plays that song that’s so elusive/
And the magic music makes your morning mood”

“Spirit of the Radio” contains one of my favorite rock endings in all rock music to ever have ended. And I never want it to.

from Permanent Waves-Rush (1980)

Day 8: Where did this come from? (a record you forgot you had, still sealed, etc.) @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge

Day 3 was aptly timed as I browsed my Dope Lemon catalog for that post and discovered my copy of Kimosabè was sealed, never opened. This is their second to newest release so it’s not terribly old, but I guess it’s not made its way into the turntable rotation yet.

Look at their trippy ass little lemon band art. Isn’t it cool? Proves the realness of physical media and how a plug and play mentality robs us of a beautiful and comprehensive listening experience.

Woof, that got deep, which just won’t do for a Lemons post. They bring all things light and bright in a moderately drug influenced jello salad of sound.

Day 9 @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge Send in the Hologram-An Artist You Never Got to See

Warren Zevon.

Day 12 of @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge and today is “Identity Crisis: Experimenting w/ New Styles.”

There were a few options for today by the likes of Tom Waits and Sturgill Simpson and a few others I thought of, but this was my most recent purchase to exemplify the prompt and fresh from the cheap dent bin at Barnes and noble. This is Ryan Bingham, “Watch Out for the Wolf” released almost two years ago in 2023.

I don’t know that you’d be sorry listening to this, cover to cover, in a fully immersive type experience. I did and thought it was really great.

I’m also not sure that I like it most from him, but definitely not mad at it. Recorded exclusively in the middle of east jesus nowhere in Montana so it sounds very unfiltered and gritty at moments. Tells the stories, as he does on records past, but his tone and accompaniment shape the sincerity.

Day 13, @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge asks us to Follow the Breadcrumbs: an artist you’ve found thru other bands.

This album and the band Spoon come to mind. At the time, Modest Mouse was dominating my ear waves (maybe some of the Strokes, too) and their Good News for People Who Love Bad News album was a frequently played on my Pandora. (Remember Pandora?)

Anyway, that mid 00s algorithm repeatedly connected “I Turn My Camera On” to that little side step by Modest Mouse and kind of beat it to death. But it did prompt me to listen to the rest of the album, and it became a staple.

Day 14, @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge “Why Am I Like This?”-an album that affected your life in some way.

Would it even be an average day in the vinyl community if you didn’t see Siamese Dream posted at least once? I never ever get tired of it and you shouldn’t be, either.

For me, this one pairs especially well with the last long sunset in the late evening at the end of summer, ever so slight chilly breeze sneaking in through the screens. That’s oddly specific; trust me on it though and maybe you’ll feel it too.

I was listening to this a ton towards the end of a particular season in life I was in, knowing I would be transitioning to something else soon.

I’d get home late, simply flop in bed with headphones on, and just fall asleep with my window open. Very “end scene of Dazed and Confused”-dramatic camera pan out- only this was definitely end of summer, end of a life chapter.

Yet very, very good times of which I’m thankful for. This album is the adhesive that bonds those memories to long term storage.

Day 15, @brandudesrecordvault for #smarchvinylchallenge, “Lousy Ides of Smarch: Dark, Angry, Sad, Loud, Violent…Smarchy”

Here is royalty of a big loud mood.

Deftones- Around the Fur (1997)

Day 16: @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge “Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave”-an album/band with a deceptive name.

I don’t believe they are much reserved, nor do I know their position on cheese, but I do know they love strange linguistic tongue twisters and double entendre.

This is Modest Mouse.

Isaac Brock lifted the name from a short story by Virginia Woolf entitled, “The Mark on the Wall,” where certain individuals are described as “modest, mouse-coloured people.”

(The album I grabbed today is The Golden Casket, released in the early 2020s sometime.)

Day 17 @brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge “Unsung Heroes-underrated band or album.”

To tell you the truth, I have no certainty on what Pavement is rated but they seemingly are forgotten a lot. But when I find people who know and like Pavement, I know they’re instantly my people.

Day 18: Showpiece-a collection item you’re proud to show off. This was just an old musty souvenir from the 70s that I got for real cheap but I love it almost as much as I love Hawaii.

@brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge

Days 19/20: “The Cup Runneth Over” (a side project) and “Favorite Flourish” (a design element you can’t get enough of)

Yesterday turned out to be extra smarchy. A puking kid, mountains of snow, a raging headache. Damn you, Smarch!

Initially, Gorillaz was just something on the side for Blur frontman Damon Alborn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett. And to tell you the truth, I don’t think that’s ever really changed, but the concept caught on more than anyone ever predicted it would. A band of fictional cartoon characters? What?

This lends itself to some of my favorite features or design of vinyl collecting. Album art or weird photography is sometimes almost as cool as what’s playable.

Given that a big half of what makes Gorillaz work is the visual, albeit, imagined representation of what you hear, and it demonstrates one of my favorite flourishes that make records really cool.

Day 21: Brand Worship-your favorite label to collect.

Most recently, many @sofaburn_records artists have really caught my ear, @jeremypinnell in particular.

I don’t mention @officialjackwhite too often but I frequently read his newsletter and likewise try to stay involved in what @thirdmanrecords is doing.

Then there’s several treats I’ve enjoyed from @blackandwyattrecords down there in Memphis, TN, who have a range of really cool musicians with diverse sound by the likes of @tylerdawsonkeith, @turnstylesmemphis , and @aquarianblood.

My record shelves absolutely groan under the weight of anything ever supported by @thirtytigers; some I’ve already posted within this month. Short of some @jasonisbell that I threw on last night that’s absolutely fantastic and I’m so jonesin to share some other smarchy day.

Day 22: “Caturday” (show me your furry friends! or an album.)

@brandudesrecordvault#smarchvinylchallenge

Meet Alma Bean, the laziest, stinkiest, grumpiest cattle dog who never works. I’m trying to send her a message here but, as you can plainly see, she just don’t give a rip.

I do think this soundtrack was well done, also.

Day 23: Foodie Lewis & the Chews (Band/Album/Song with a food reference)

Hungry for some Meatloaf?

Day 24: Rollin with the Homies (Local Band)

If you were in/around Milwaukee in the late 90s, you may know these guys. I understand they’re still together and play Summerfest fairly regularly.

I hate people and overpriced beverages so I typically don’t venture out but I hear they are great live.

May I introduce you to The Gufs? Very Gin Blossoms-esque, but better. My copy of this CD was wore the heck out long time ago.

Not near my vinyl this week so this suddenly became a very Smarchy challenge indeed. I don’t think this one ever made it to vinyl anyway.

Some past photo searches and Google confirming later, I think I found a somewhat fulfilling, albeit smarchy cheater response to “Don’t Call It a Comeback-an album released 10+ years later.”

And while this one was not THE comeback album, Loveless from My Bloody Valentine was the precursor to the time gap between it and their next LP, m b v, released in 2013.

Well, bye, Smarch.

@brandudesrecordvault-you’re the antithesis to all things Smarchy. I’ve so enjoyed posting on your #smarchvinylchallenge again this year (my second year!) Please please do it again. Please?

Day 26: Birthday Twin (Artist or album sharing your birthday) EmmyLou Harris (as featured in the triad with Dolly and Linda Ronstadt, on cassette, “Trio.”)

Day 27: What we do is secret (a band you love so much you want to keep them for yourself) Tash Sultana

Day 28: Bonding Experience (a record you and your friends gushed over) Jane’s Addiction, “Ritual de lo Habitual”

Day 29: Rent Free (song or lyric that lives in your head) How about a quote from the movie Almost Famous? (One of my favorite soundtracks) “…never take it seriously. If you never take it seriously, you never get hurt. If you never get hurt, you always have fun. And if you ever get lonely, you just go to the record store and visit your friends.” -Penny Lane

Day 30: Ancient Artifacts (another piece of old media that you own) Sublime, “40 oz to Freedom” on CD

Day 31: Sanctuary (you and your happy place) Me and my record shelf looking really happy and also some of my plants and the breathtaking shores of Hanelei Bay—all things that send me to my happy place.