BLACK GOLD TO HOST OTHER SIDES VINYL RECORDS LISTENING PARTY
Ever come across a record that you’ve never seen before and are certain you won’t see again? Was it a forgotten outsider country singer or an early 90’s hip hop track by a group that didn’t do anything after leaving the studio? On Friday, December 15th we invite the public to join us at Black Gold Records (461 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231) to share and discuss the musical oddities that have made their way into all of our lives. We’ve booked a few special guests from the music industry to share alongside DJs, record fanatics, and strangers! Just show up at 7pm with your record to play (seriously anything you find interesting, obscure, or just different) and we’ll find a slot for you to play and lightly discuss a song or two. We will provide refreshments for the casual social setting, and encourage anyone to participate. Come hang out and get weird! Free admission.
MIKE AND JEFF OF BLACK GOLD RECORDS TO DJ THE RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR
Black Gold’s Mike Polnasek and Jeff Ogiba are proudly providing the soundtrack to eight upcoming dates for the legendary Renegade Craft Fair. The fair is the world’s largest curation of independent craft and design, so you can always expect to experience fresh, high quality works from today’s most exciting artists and designers. Black Gold will be lugging personal vinyl records to both locations and spinning them from open to close on each day. When you are done supporting the vendors, come say hi!
Saturday and Sunday November, 18 + 19
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 W. 18th St.
and
Saturday and Sundays in December 2 + 3 | 9 + 10 | & 16 + 17
Industry City
274 36th Street
Brooklyn, NY
11232
Finally some COOL news about the rock band The Eagles
If you’ve been on planet Earth for any amount of time, your ears have most likely been force-fed the music of the group known as The Eagles. The Los Angeles country pop rock ‘n’ roll outfit known for covering the more laid back side of classic rock may have been more lax than we ever imagined. One of their most well-known hits is a song that echoes eternally (and painfully) in all of our souls. The meaning behind “Hotel California”, a song that describes a love affair in Mexico’s famed destination of the same name has been a topic of dispute for decades. Fans have claimed the song’s meaning to be about anything from the turbulent lifestyles of those in the music industry, to the mental imprisonment of some practicing Satanists. It is now that you will learn the truth behind the song you’ve misunderstood for too long: These easy going men were singing about the lifestyle of a marijuana smoker.
OK, try to follow me. The song begins by mentioning the smell of “colitas” – a slang term in Mexico for the leaves of a low-quality marijuana plant:
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Next we are introduced to a woman whom I’ve come to identify as a personification of the leafy drug. “Mary Jane” was the one “standing there in the doorway”. We also learn of the classic precautionary tale of his understanding that the psychedelic trip could be “Heaven or Hell” (like that time you got stoned and laughed your ass off at six straight hours of 70’s sitcoms versus the time you called your mother at 3:30 am because you couldn’t feel your fingertips and thought you tasted colors).
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
“This could be Heaven or this could be Hell”
Do I even need to explain this next part? Step 1: Spark it up. Step 2: Hear some voices.
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say…
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here
Above: Recent Jeopardy Champion Austin Rogers expresses his discontent with The Eagles.
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
Have the clouds of pot smoke cleared for you yet? Is your mind “Tiffany -Twisted”, do you got the Mercedes Bends [sic]? Can you relate to the notion of marijuana being the only (non-physically addictive) drug that people return to throughout the course of their lives becoming obvious? Do you “dance to remember or dance to forget”?
So I called up the Captain,
“Please bring me my wine”
He said, “We haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine”
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say…
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin’ it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis
Above: The Dude makes his unfavorable opinion on The Eagles quite clear.
Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”
And in the master’s chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can’t kill the beast
Here it sounds like this experience was “Heaven” and well maybe you will finally relax when you hear this last part…
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
“Relax, ” said the night man,
“We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!
Still not enough to convince you?
(The) Hotel California or “T.H.C.” (a.k.a. Tetrahydrocannabinol ) is the psychoactive ingredient found in Cannabis. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Thanks D. Henley et al. (Don’t sue me, dude)… and to the readers, “Take it Easy”.
How David Seville And The Witch Doctor Rescued Liberty Records
Liberty records was an American record label formed in 1955. Started by former 20th Century Fox music producer Simon Waronker, by 1957 the label had had a string of successful hits including recordings by the likes of Julie London, Patience and Prudence, Eddie Cochran, John D. Loudermilk, and many more.
In 1958 a couple of years of slow movers sent Liberty on the fast track to the poor house. That was, until the day was saved by a young pianist / voice actor named Ross Bagdasarian Sr. or David Seville. Ross had already started to make a name for himself in the music biz with a couple of minor hits under various pen names. One instrumental piano ballad called Armen’s Theme and another song called Trouble With Harry… A novelty record based on the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name.
With Liberty hinging on bankruptcy Ross had successfully convinced the execs to allocate the remaining vinyl pucks and labels in the warehouse to pressing his new record “Witch Doctor”. The song was an enormous number one hit and rescued the company.
Witch Doctor is a love song, in which a gentleman seeks advice from a witch doctor, when the woman of his affection will not requite his love. The Witch doctor simply replies “Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang”. (Allegedly the Walla Walla bing bang part was a low key shout out to his uncle, who had recently moved Walla Walla, Washington… how cool is that). Witch Doctor utilizes experimentation of tape speed to create the doctor’s high pitched voice (David’s own voice recorded at half speed, then played back normally), a technique he would use to create all of the records for the rest of his career, including his next and lesser known novelty record “Bird on My Head” (1958)
This one is about a disgruntled man sitting in a parking lot, lamenting the lack of his life’s achievements with a similarly disgruntled bird sitting on his head. The characters in Seville’s arrangements never seem to come to resolution, which I find to be super intriguing.
The disgruntled character angle is another popular formula to be found in Seville’s records Including the earlier “The Trouble With Harry”
The entire Trouble With Harry record seems to be the narrator (David) complaining about how the Harry the piano player just plays the same song over and over. It’s a playful exchange with the listener in a sort of Looney Tune, or Woody Allen sort of way. Even though this is an earlier song, before his tape experimentation method, and under a different name (Alfi & Harry) this song is an important one in the trajectory of David’s career. The voice over instrumental tool is one very much in the tool kit of David’s Swan Song… Alvin and the Chipmunks.
At the end of 1958, David Seville applies all of his learned skills in to one perfect idea and creates The Chipmunks, “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”. In another magical, low key shoutout, he names the Chipmunks after the founding members of Liberty Records Al Bennet, Simon Waronker, and Theodore Keep, respectively. The record comes just in time for Christmas… It’s a smash, selling 4.5 million copies in 7 weeks, and garnering the distinction of being the only Christmas record to ever reach number one on the charts.
Despite contrary belief David did the voice of all three Chipmunks. He and Liberty continued to make Chipmunks records until shortly before his death in 1972. But Chipmunk song would be his last #1 hit. In 1979 his son Ross Jr. took over the Chipmunk empire, became the voice of David Seville… and the rest is a billion dollar global success story that is ongoing to this day. All because Ross Bagdasarian Sr. convinced a few record execs to hang the fate of their company on pressing his record: a kooky, experimental, novelty song called Witch Doctor. Pretty Cool.
24 - 24Shares
Massive $1.00 Record Sale at Folksbier Brewery /Tasting Room — Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
BLACK GOLD to host the 17th Black Gold Gold Dig with friends at FOLKSBIER — right around the corner from their Court Street location (at 101 Luquer St, Brooklyn, NY 11231). Thousands and thousands of vinyl records will be available here for one day only at the low price of $1.00 each. This is a cash only sale! Expect all genres of music, LPs, 12″s,and 45s: promotional records, label overstock, new and used rock / jazz / blues / soul / funk / disco / indie / metal / foreign / soundtracks / oddball / dance / techno / electronic… the list goes on. 12pm Noon the doors open. Any questions call Black Gold at 347-227-8227. Tell your friends! ALL AGES – 21+ to drink! Find out more: Massive Vinyl Record Sale at Brooklyn Brewery.
It’s time again for Black Gold’s BITS OF GOLD contest. The rules are as follows: Pictured are sixteen (16) close ups from popular LP album covers. Name as many as you can, listing from L to R, top to bottom. Any submission with at least one correct answer gets your name in the drawing x1, anyone who can get all 16 correct gets their name in the drawing x5. One entry per person please. Drawing will be held Thursday, Dec. 15th. Submit your answers by emailing info@blackgoldbrooklyn.com by noon 12/15/16. Prizes as follows: 1st place (x1) = $100 gift certificate good for anything at our Black Gold locations. 2nd place (x1) $50 gift certificate good for anything at our Black Gold locations. 3rd place (x1) Your choice of a Black Gold T-shirt or one pound of our coffee. No purchase necessary and we can ship your prizes to you if/when you win! Thanks and good luck.
Check the new BLACK GOLD RECORDS ONLINE STORE — We plan to add some new items in the coming weeks, but for now you can get some orders in and have them shipped to you before the holidays hit!
We are always buying and selling records in the New York City area. We travel and can pick up too! Call today to make an appointment! 347.227.8227.
