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Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Organ “Grab that gun”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: The Organ
Album Title: Grab that gun
Year released: 2004
Year reissued: 2024
Details: 20th anniversary reissue, 2 x LP, 45 rpm, translucent brown marble, translucent green marble, 2nd disc contains ‘Thieves EP’, gatefold sleeve

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The skinny: You can chalk this one up to one of those records that I had all but given up on adding to my collection. And then, just a month or so ago, I was shocked to see a 20th anniversary reissue announced and I didn’t hesitate for one millisecond before pulling the trigger. The Organ was a short-lived indie pop quintet out of Vancouver, BC. They were part of that 2000s explosion-slash-renaissance of indie rock here in Canada. Most wouldn’t call it a scene because it was happening simultaneously in three urban centres (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver) but there really was a sense of community and collaboration betwixt them all. The Organ was on the same label as The New Pornographers but they shared similar post-punk space with The Dears and Arcade Fire (both of Montreal). Sadly, “Grab that gun” would be The Organ’s only long player* and they would disband only five years after forming. Still, this album is considered a cult classic of the era and is definitely one of my favourites to come out of that Canadian ‘scene’. This reissue is pressed to two discs of two different translucent colours with marbling, both at 45 rpms, the extra disc with a bonus EP never pressed to vinyl before, and the packaging is just smashing.

Standout track: “Brother”

*To go along with three EPs, one of which, “Thieves”, is included as the second disc for this reissue.

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: Northside “Chicken rhythms”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Northside
Album Title: Chicken rhythms
Year released: 1991
Year reissued: 2024
Details: RSD2024 release, Limited edition, yellow, numbered 1169

The skinny: My last ‘vinyl love’ post back in April featured one of my Record Store Day finds and I hinted, then, that there was one record that I didn’t find, but was still on the lookout for. This was that record. I ended up ordering a copy from one of the indie record stores whose online presences I frequent. I just couldn’t help myself. Released in 1991, “Chicken rhythms” was Northside’s lone full-length album, which I’ve alway seen as a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. And for the longest time, I held a grudge against fellow Mancunians, Happy Mondays*, whose excessive lifestyles likely played no small part in bankrupting theirs and Northside’s record label, Factory Records, forever shortening Northside’s discography. “Chicken Rhythms” was the first album I ever purchased on compact disc** and now I own it for my record shelves, a numbered, special edition Record Store Day release, pressed to yellow vinyl. Oh baby.

Standout track: “Take five”

*Have no fear, I forgave them eventually and we’re friends again.

**Because I couldn’t find it on cassette tape anywhere.

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Vinyl

Vinyl love: The Box “The best of The Box”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: The Box
Album Title: The best of The Box
Year released: 2024
Details: RSD2024 release, 2 x LP, fluorescent orange & fluorescent green, foil cover, gatefold sleeve

The skinny: I’ve been participating in Record Store Day festivities for more than a decade but with the diminishing amount of exclusive releases to catch my interest, it’s been a number of years since I’ve actually ventured out early enough to get stuck in lines and get involved in the crush and the rush of the crash and grab. This year, though, there were a few on my wishlist and I ventured out before the clock even reached ten. I got coffee and queued up for hours outside and inside a couple of my local shops and in the end, found three of the four that I had my eye on*. One of these was a Canadian RSD release of a new compilation called “The best of The Box”. I wrote recently how I realized that I was a fan of The Box (without even knowing it) when I posted about their single “L’affaire Dumoutier (Say to me)” for my Eighties Best 100 Redux. Listening to this vinyl the other night only reinforced for me how underrated and how talented the Canadian new wave band was at writing an ear worm that stuck with you throughout the decades. This release is pressed to two discs in fluorescent colours (orange and green)** and comes in a foil wrapped gatefold sleeve. Definitely a successful RSD for me.

Standout track: “Ordinary people”

*I wasn’t expecting to find the fourth one here in Canada but am still on the hunt for it and closing in.

**They were an 80s band, you know.