The Vinyl District

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Celebrating Tom Petersson on his 75th birthday. —Ed.What a cheap trick. Here Rockford, Illinois’ finest put out Heaven Tonight which I considered the coolest album in the galaxy, only to follow it up with Cheap Trick at Budokan and the heinous “I Want You to Want Me,” which I’ve had to suffer through like 80,000 times over the years. Every single person I know loves the damn song. I’d sooner listen to the death rattle of a unicorn.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Look: Unless you’re a resident in, or owner of, an English retirement home, I cannot in good conscience recommend that you purchase a copy of early Seventies English novelty act Lieutenant Pigeon’s 2023 compilation album The Decca Years. It’s the kind of album you should listen to with antimacassars, not headphones. The smell of overcooked roast beef should be in the air.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Joseph Neff

On May 9, Sublime Frequencies gifts curious listeners a pair of diligently assembled compilations in accordance with the label’s norm. The first, Born in the City of Tanta – Lower Egyptian Urban Folklore and Bedouin Shaabi from Libya’s Bourini Records 1968-75, documents the productivity of a key independent Egyptian label, and the second, Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar offers a dose of potent contemporary ceremonial music mayhem from the country of its title.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Joseph Neff

Ready for Heaven is the latest record by Deradoorian, the mononymous project of Angel Deradoorian, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter formerly of Dirty Projectors, out May 9 on vinyl, compact disc, and digital through Fire Records. It’s a fiesta of art-pop that embraces the weird while lacking miscalculations, the tight set of nine songs thriving on confidence in its assemblage and a clear vision of when to hit the brakes and when to lay on the gas.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Celebrating Bob Seger on his 80th birthday. —Ed.Through no fault of his own—or maybe it is his fault, I don’t know—Bob Seger has never gotten any respect. He’s the Rodney Dangerfield of rock, and this despite the fact that he’s written his fair share of memorable, and even great, songs.