Vintage

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive CD (Vagrant)
New album contains three bonus tracks unavailable on the download version and is packaged in a limited edition digipak. Features the track "Sequestered In Memphis." CD now, vinyl soon. "The Hold Steady continue to prove themselves a more convincing classic-rock act than should be possible in 2008, creating a tension between old-fashioned storytelling and self-referential art. Recommended. [8.4]" -- Pitchfork

Wire - Object 47 CD (Pink Flag)
Object 47 (the 47th object in their discography) is nonetheless only Wire'seleventh studio album. While retaining their idiosyncratic mix of an avant-garde mindset with classic pop timing, this album boasts "tunes with zoom" -- a unique formula that somehow manages to sound both wholly Wire (in a classic sense) and contemporary.

John Mellencamp - Life Death Love & Freedom CD+DVD-A (Hear Music)
Produced by T Bone Burnett. Package includes a bonus high-quality DVD-audio. CD now, vinyl due August 5. Initial copies come with a free 7-inch!

Faun Fables - A Table Forgotten (Drag City)
This new EP by Dawn McCarthy's Faun Fables takes domesticity as its theme, with songs about the upkeep of the home and kitchen life as its unlikely subject matter. Although on paper that might sound like a rather trivial basis for songwriting, that couldn't be further from the truth. Both in its lyrical themes and the actual musical content, you can hear warm, lively depictions of familial life and good housekeeping, from the utensil-clank and kettle-whistling backdrops of 'With Words & Cake' to the nostalgic balladry of 'Pictures'. Next, 'A Table Forgotten' is another evocative piece, looking back on a youth spent around a kitchen table, while 'Winter Sleep' - co-written with fellow Bonnie 'Prince' Billy collaborator Valgeir Sigurdsson - takes on a more grandiose tone, blurring the boundaries between landscape and the interior life, of the imagination.

Mirah - The Old Days Feeling (Modern Radio)
This is a collection of out-of-print, reissued or previously unreleased material. Tracks originated from a variety of cassette, 7' or foreign compilations, including the out-of-print Small Sale 7', released on Modern Radio in 2001. Liner notes were written by Calvin Johnson (K Records).

The Detroit Cobras - The Original Recordings: Singles & Unreleased 95-97 (Munster)
This is archive material from the early days of the Detroit Cobras, before the release of their first album in 1998.  The beauty of this stuff is that it is classic Cobras-style with lo-fi production, perfect for the Cobras’ sound, performing in badass fashion, songs by Ray Davies, the Mysterians, and The Supremes, to name a few.  And this is party music.

The Grascals - Keep On Walkin' CD (Rounder)
Already among the most beloved and revered of contemporary bluegrass groups, The Grascals reach new levels of power and confidence with their third album, Keep On Walkin'. Their trademark blend of traditional bluegrass and classic country with more modern elements has been further strengthened and refined by endless touring, and is showcased on an impeccable selection of songs highlighting both their freewheeling, infectious side and a more introspective, thoughtful perspective. CD now, LP August 12.

O.A.R. - All Sides CD (Everfine/Atlantic)
Eleven years after the group's first release, O.A.R. has come to stand for authentic rock music that reflects the collective triumphs and tragedies we all experience in this world -- real people making real music that resounds deeply with their fans. The realization that the song selections showcased every facet of the band and its musical tastes led to calling the album All Sides.

Daedelus - Love To Make Music To CD (Ninja Tune)
The Los Angeles musician's best and most playfully accessible album yet. Guests include Grammy Award-winning rapper Paperboy, producer Michael Johnson (The Lilys, Holopaw), Taz Arnold and Om'Mas Keith (Sa-Ra Creative Partners), N'fa (1200 Techniques crew), and chanteuse Erika Rose. CD now, LP soon.

Karl Hector + The Malcouns - Sahara Swing CD (Now-Again)
Afro-delic Kraut-funk! Now-Again Records follows up The Heliocentrics' percussive excursions into the astral realms of psychedelia with an album of Afro-tinged funk music originating from the Southern Sahara and recorded in Germany. Karl Hector has, to date, only appeared on one 7-inch, from 1996, as the leader of the Funk Pilots. For this album, he has teamed up with Jay Whitefield (producer and guitarist for the Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers, and founder of the now defunct Hotpie & Candy Records) and Thomas Myland and Zdenko Curlija, founders of The Malcouns. Alongside Bo Baral, other members of the Poets of Rhythm and crack Munich- based session musicians, Whitefield, Myland and Curlija have crafted nearly twenty tracks that follow the musical roads that Hector has travelled. The underlying groove that ties these ideas together, of course, is as rooted in James Brown as it is Fela Kuti. As informed by Mulatu Astatke of Ethiopia as it is by Jean-Claude Vannier and Can. This is an album of the world. Not "world music" -- but that will appeal to any culture ever transfixed by rhythm on "the one."

Kasai Allstars (Congotronics 3) - In The 7th Moon... CD (Crammed Discs)
Complete title: In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic. After Konono No. 1 and the multi-artist Buzz 'N' Rumble set, the incredible debut album by the Kasai Allstars collective raises the ante and lifts Crammed's Congotronics series up to the next level. Creating a mixture of traditional acoustic instruments, electric guitars, distortion-laden thumb pianos and soulful vocals, Kasai Allstars draw their songs from festive and ritual music played in the bush before being banned by the Europeans, who considered the highly erotic dances and the pagan trance ceremonies to be "satanic."

Nas - Nas CD (Def Jam)
Nas is back and more controversial than ever on his new "untitled" release. Nas studies and lyrically dissects some of our most divisive issues: race, inequality, poverty and power. And who better to stir up debate than the man most consider one of the top five emcees in the history of the game? Warning: cover art depicts the number Zorro did on Nas' back while he was lying on his side. CD now, vinyl due July 29.

In-Stores: Always Free!
R. Black – Wednesday July 16th 5:00pm (book signing)
Absolute – Thursday July 17th 5:30pm
The Study Band – Friday July 25th 5:30pm
Efft -- Friday Aug 8th 5:30pm
Immortal Technique -- Monday Aug 11th 3pm- 5pm (meet & greet)
Cuesta Ridge – Thursday Aug 14th 5:30pm
Ivan Ulz – Wednesday Aug 20th 10:00am
Den – Wednesday Sept 3rd 5:30pm

Shows we are selling tickets for:

4th Annual Afrofunk Festival
Wednesday, July 16th, 8:00pm
Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo
21 and over Tix: $13.50

Dirty Heads
Friday, July 18th, 7:30pm
Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo
All Ages Tix: $11.50

John Mayer
Wednesday, July 23rd, 7:00pm
Mid-State Fair, Paso Robles
All Ages Tix: $56.00 and $40.00

Toby Keith
Thursday, July 24th, 7:00pm
Mid-State Fair, Paso Robles
All Ages Tix: $62.00, $52.00 and $42.00

Steely Dan
Friday, July 25th, 7:00pm
Mid-State Fair, Paso Robles
All Ages Tix: $56.00, $46.00 and $40.00