On Saturday February 4th we’ll be having a listening party for the newest Mark Lanegan album Blues Funeral. The album – Lanegan’s first in eight years – will be released on CD & vinyl Feb. 7th via 4AD, but eager fans will have the opportunity to listen to the album at Ditch on the 4th via a special test pressing that we’ll be getting of the album. Here’s the deal…
we’ll be playing the test pressing of Blues Funeral in store on Feb. 4th
people who special order copies of Blues Funeral on CD/vinyl will pay a special one-time low price
all special orders will be entered in a draw to win the test pressing of the full length
the first 5 special orders will be given a FREE 7”
Pretty exciting stuff! We’ll only be accepting special orders at the store, not via Facebook, Twitter or email.
Hey all! Thanks so much for making this holiday season so great. This year has been a big one for us with the move tp our larger Fort St. location – we really appreciate all the support. It’s so great to see so many people really excited about giving music as gifts this holiday season.
BOXINGDAY
We’ll be open 10am-5pm on Dec. 26 – there will be no tax on all purchases!
Yessir! The end is nigh… so we thought we’d reveal what made our musical year worthwhile. In these internet-fueled times, tastes are so disparate & splintered, it’s always remarkable to see titles pop up on more than one list… it kind of galvanizes an album’s value amidst all the chatter.
So yeah, have a gander. We’ll post on our Facebook as well, please feel free to leave comments or your own lists!
Yes, the holiday season is completely upon us! This year was yet again another fruitful 12 months of music across a wide spectrum of genres & sounds… and we’ve got you covered, both on CD & vinyl.
This week marks the release of The Black Keys’ El Camino, easily one of the year’s most anticipated titles & sure to be a very popular Xmas gift (Note: the vinyl version of El Camino comes with a free CD copy of the album). On top of stuff like Adele, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes & Tom Waits (all available on CD & vinyl), there are tons of options for killer Xmas gifts this December.
SPECIALORDERS!
We can special order a LOT of stuff. We’ve expanded our inventory a great deal since our move to Fort St, but we still cannot stock everything. So please, don’t hesitate to ask us if you don’t see something on our shelf. We will look into special ordering you titles that we don’t have on hand.
Pretty excited for RSD Black Friday tomorrow! We’re sure most of you remember how amazing Record Store Day was this past April – this Black Friday will be a nice addendum to that & a great way to officially start holiday shopping. Few points of note below…
BLACKKEYSFRIDAYCOMPETITION
This contest is great… you win an AUTOGRAPHEDTESTPRESSING (!) of the Black Keys’ new album El CaminoPLUS a pair of free tickets to see the Black keys the next time they hit Vancouver. To enter, simply pre-order the Black Keys’ new album El Camino (released on December 6).
TITLES WE WILLHAVE IN STOCK
Here is a list of all the titles that we know we’ll receive. We will not receive every RSD title, but this is a healthy chunk for sure. NOTE: the titles with “**” next to them have not yet arrived, but will show.
Ryan Adams “Do I Wait”/“Darkness” 7” vinyl 3000 US ** Back-Wash Rhythm Band, The Golden Breed Band 12” vinyl 1200 US, 800 international Beatles, The The Singles Box Set 7” vinyl box Black Keys, “Lonely Boy” 12“vinyl ** Boris, New Album LP/CD ** Brendan Benson Upstairs at United, Vol 1 12” vinyl Byrds, “The Times They Are A Changin’” 7” vinyl 1200 US, 1000 International ** Byrds, “Eight Miles High” 7” vinyl 1200 US, 1000 International ** Chris Cornell Songbook Double LP 2000 US ** Dr. Dog “Warrior Man” 7” single Dream Theater Metropolis PT2: Scenes from a Memory 12” vinyl 3000 US Miles Davis, Miles Davis Quartet 10” vinyl 1800 US, 1200 international Justin Townes Earle “Slippin’ & Slidin’” 7” vinyl 1000 US Grateful Dead, The Live Europe ’72, Vol 2 4 LP vinyl 3000 US, 28 ** Iron & Wine Morning Becomes Eclectic 12” vinyl 3000 US Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Soul Time! CD 20,000 US Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Soul Time! 12” vinyl 5000 US Kings Of Leon The Early Vinyl 4 LP Vinyl box set 3250 US; 1200 international Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos Hot Rod Hootenanny 12” vinyl 1200 US, 800 international Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos Hot Rod Hootenanny CD 1200 US, 800 international Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos Rods N Ratfinks 12” vinyl 1200 US, 800 international Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos Rods N Ratfinks CD 1200 US, 800 international Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos Surfink! 12” vinyl 1200 US, 800 international Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos Surfink! CD 1200 US, 800 international Nirvana Nevermind—The Singles 10” vinyl set 5000 US ** Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Kiss My Amps Live 12” vinyl 5000 US Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Suger Sex Magik double 12” vinyl 5170 US ** Rolling Stones, No Spare Parts 7” ** Soundgarden Live on I-5—Before The Doors Soundcheck EP 10” vinyl 4000 US Pete Townshend The Quadrophenia Demos Volume 1 10” vinyl 4000 US Type O Negative Type O Negative Vinyl Box Set 12” vinyl set 1000 US Various Artists Wheedle’s Groove: Seattle’s Finest in Funk & Soul 1965- 79 7” box set 2000 US Wilco Speak Into The Rose 10” vinyl Yardbirds “Ha Ha Said The Clown” 7” vinyl 1600 US, 1200 international Yardbirds “Ten Little Indians” 7” vinyl 1600 US, 1200 international
Tickets just went on sale for this mammoth Victoria event & we are super excited to see Rifflandia stretch its legs a little bit. This year, the 4 day event will include Royal Athletic Park, a massive addition that is sure to really hammer home the true spirit of a festival.
This year’s lineup *isn’t finished yet*, but already it’s a fantastic cross section of all genres & styles. Mother Mother, Broken Social Scene, Cold War Kids, Daniel Wesley, City & Colour, Awolnation, De La Soul, Cave Singers, J Mascis, Nosaj Thing, Besnard Lakes, AraabMuzik, Blackalicious, Machinedrum, Sage Francis, Tokimonsta, Ra Ra Riot & MOOOOORE will pack Athletic Park & the regular Rifflandia night time venues over four days/nights of amazing music.
This year there are more ticket options than previous years – we strongly encourage you to visit the Rifflandia website’s ticket page to help decide which option best suits you. Couple of points of note:
individual day passes for Fri/Sat/Sun are only available via Rifflandia.com. These passes will get you into Royal Athletic Park for one day only.
There is a limited amount of SUPERPASSES. The Rifflandia Super Pass gets you into the park during the day AND all of the evening events as well – these passes are going quick, so have a good look at THISPAGE: if there bands playing during the day AND night that you really want to see (ie/ you REEEEAALLY want to see both Sage Francis & Mother Mother), then we strongly advise you snatch up a Super Pass pronto to save you the hassle down the line. Honestly, it’s an amazing $165 value.
Fantastic event put together by the fine folks over at CFUV & Club 9ONE9 – a FREEFucked Up show, with local support from The Sentimentals (Dreamboat & Fatso), No Eulogy & Watcher. Fucked Up are winners of the Polaris prize & have a huge rep as intense live performers – needless to say, these guys are amazing & nobody should sleep on this!
(Dunham) CD & LP
The canon of soul music is filled with stories of struggle & perseverance, but few match Charles Bradley’s tale of triumph over the everyman grind of urban America. Raised in Brooklyn, Bradley has wandered the US for much of his 64 years, falling between performing as a soul singer & peddling his wares as a trained chef. Despite a life filled with near-misses at a music career, a late-in-life relocation back to Brooklyn found Bradley on stage, occasionally performing his James Brown-inspired routine as Black Velvet.
Bradley’s raw soul & energized vocals began to draw quite the devoted following & caught the attention of Gabriel Roth of Daptone Records. After losing his brother to a horrible murder at the hands of his own nephew, Bradley reconvened & with the help of Thomas Brenneck, began weaving his tales of hardship & heartbreak into some classic soul originals. The result is No Time For Dreaming, a powerful, gritty album packed with raw emotion & the familiar sounds of life’s trials & tribulations. The music here is provided by The Menahan Street Band, who do a brilliant job of framing Bradley’s classic vocals with stone cold grooves & sincere soul balladry. Easily one of 2011’s most endearing stories, it also happens to be one of the year’s best records. It goes without saying that fans of Sharon Jones should pay full attention.
CHARLESBRADLEYPLAYSLIVE AT CLUB 9ONE9 ON SEPT. 3!!!
(Jagjaguwar) CD & LP
Even amidst the sparse arrangements & minimal aesthetic of For Emma, Forever Ago, it was always apparent that Justin Vernon had a keen sense of tonality, dynamics & texture. On the eponymous second full length from Bon Iver, Vernon’s affinity for free noise, synths & vocal manipulation come to the forefront – this is not the paired down affair of For Emma – instead, horns, harmonizing & 80s-inspired ballads rear up & colour Vernon’s already-stunning songs.
His connecting voice – whether clean or auto-tuned – maintains the intense intimacy of past projects, but songs are stretched out to cover new ground, from skronky free-jazz jams to the sweeping, epic 80s emotionalism of “Beth/Rest”. A massive step left from For Emma, Vernon has managed to evolve Bon Iver’s sound into something cohesive, emotional but at the same time, experimental. No doubt one of 2011’s best.
