X-Term Vinyl Revival Record Store Purchases

We are finished with our X-Term week, and the next thing to prepare for is the X-Term Expo Fair, which will showcase our group's album reviews, this blog, and mix compilations from their albums.  Below are some images of their purchases from Deep Groove Records, Plan 9 Records, and Steady Sounds Records, all in Richmond, Virginia.

Our week kicked off last Friday, February 25th, and we watched the movie High Fidelity.  The class divided over a love/hate feeling towards John Cusack's character, Rob.  Regardless, it was a great way to start off our X-Term week, and the students loved the film.  On Monday, we went to Deep Groove for some records.  On Tuesday, we met up with some of the crew from the local radio station at WRIR 97.3.  The students learned much about local independent radio, and some are even willing to volunteer in the future!  Mission accomplished.  Afterwards, the students learned about mix tapes, and they made a mix playlist, based on a specific theme.  My favorite was the group that made a zombie playlist.  I listened to it on my way home from work.  Wednesday was a full day, as we spent the morning visiting Tracy at the record distro, Record Finders.  We got a tour of the place, and Tracy explained their work at the warehouse.  Much thanks Tracy!  In the afternoon, we spent an hour shopping at Steady Sounds, off of Broad Street.  Everyone was pleased with the selection that Steady Sounds had to offer, and owners Marty and Drew were super nice in assisting everyone find what they were looking for and make some great purchases.  Thanks guys!  

We are left with stacks of records that the students have purchased, and they are now listening and reviewing their records.  Look out for future posts about their purchases, during this experience.  Here are some pictures.

We hung out with Tracy at the Independent Label Collective, a record distributor in Richmond.

Vinyl Revivalists visit Deep Groove!

On Monday, February 28th, we got to do some heavy record shopping at Deep Groove off of Robinson Street down in The Fan of Richmond.  Jay was super nice, and he was stoked to meet all of the students in our class.  Each student was individually greeted by the owner, and they really learned much about their purchases, through Jay, as they filed in and out of the shop.  Several students said that this was one of the best record shopping experiences so far.  Thank you Jay and Tracy for setting this up!  Here are some pics.

On Tuesday, January 25th, our Vinyl Revival class had it's first full day.  We kicked off the day and watched the film Vinyl by director Alan Zweig.  In this film, Zweig interviews several serious record collectors, and focuses more on their obsession with collecting records, rather than their love of music.  Many quirky, yet serious collectors are interviewed, and the students were quite intrigued!  

After our previous meeting, the students were asked to bring in album of their choice, and present it to the class.  They all brought in a variety of albums, genres, and artists on either vinyl, cd, or mp3 format.  Some of their favorites included Beirut, Leftover Crack, Betty Davis, The Judy's, Talking Heads, Nick Drake, R.E.M., The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones.  That's quite a riff raff of bands!  Here are some pictures form their experience.  Dig the old portable turntable (which belongs to the school library from the 60's)!

Learning About Record Labels and Pressings!

Our Vinyl Revivalist X-Term group has been meeting one Thursday a month for about an hour and half, since last September.  This past Thursday we discussed record labels and pressings!  After receiving a packet of information, taken from a record pricing guide, the students read up on detailed descriptions of various record labels, based on design, color of the label, etc.  They were later asked to review the 16 or so albums on display, which included some labels like Impulse, Blue Note, Tamla, Verve, Atco, Atlantic, and Stax.  Meticulously, they peered at the labels, and identified about 10 albums, along with the year of pressing, label name, and artist and genre information.  Here are some photos from their experience.  Thanks for reading!

Trying to figure stuff out.

Marvin Gaye!  Early Tamla Pressing!

 A good spread.

German Import!

Our X-Term Experience

I've been teaching Spanish at a private high school in Richmond, Virginia for almost six years.  For the past five years, we have reserved the last week of February and the first week of March for a time known as "minimester".  This two week time period allowed for the senior class to take a trip overseas, enroll in some type of alternative course, or work on some type of independent project of interest.  This year, what was formally known as "minimester" is now called "X-Term Week" and it will involve all students, from grades 9 to 12.  Faculty were asked individually to design a week course for students to enroll, based on each teacher's personal interest.  I fumbled around with some ideas, and finagled a way to create a course that would be of personal interest to me.   I proposed a course that would allow me to spend countless hours talking to students about the history, culture, artistic value, and appreciation of vinyl records.  Here is the course description that I came up with:


Vinyl Revival:                    

Students will study the history of vinyl records, recordings, and album covers.  They will also explore and experience the art of collecting and preserving an original format of recorded music.  Field trips to recording studios, record shops, museums and music venues, as well as guest speakers, will contribute to the appreciation of vinyl as a currently relevant art form. 

Enrollment filled up quickly, and I now have a total of 17 students in my class.  Some are interested and have exposure to vinyl records, and others do not.  We have met a total of three times so far to discuss various topics, including: the history of vinyl records, pressing of vinyl records, proper turntable setup, record cleaning and care, and the many differences of various record labels.  In February, the students will spend many hours digging for records and exploring new music through the vinyl format.  Currently, here are some of their responses to discuss some of their interests or influences, along with some genres that they would like to research more.  

 "My very first CD was one my father gave me of the greatest hits of The Clash, one of his favorites.  He was the influence of most of my early music tastes.  I’m currently a fan of 80’s-90’s alternative like R.E.M. and Nirvana, jazz and swing like Count Basie and John Coltrane, modern indie bands like Modest Mouse and The National, and some hip-hop that ranges from the West Coast rap of the 90’s to the mainstream rap of today.

Only being sixteen years old, I do not have much experience in the field of vinyl, but it has been an interest of mine for a while now.  I hope this project will allow me to learn about this wonderful medium of media and to allow me to find new and interesting music.  Some ideas I have for research are bands on the Sup Pop label as well as old jazz records."

Jim P.

 Top 5 Artists:

1. Sly and the Family Stone  (Stand! vs. There's a Riot Goin On)

2. Jimi Hendrix (Live at Woodstock vs. Greatest Hits)

3. Herbie Hancock  (Man-Child, Headhunters coming a close 2nd)

4. Marvin Gaye (I Want You vs. Let's Get It On)

5. Simon and Garfunkel (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Tyme)

6. Funkadelic  (America Eats Its Young)

7. The 5th Dimension (The Age of Aquarius vs. The Magic Garden)

8. Bob Dylan (Greatest Hits)

9. Earth, Wind, and Fire  (Head to the Sky)

10. ?????

Jabriel H.

"Finally getting back to you about the musical interests! I had a hard time figuring out what bands to put down so i figured i would just give you the names of the last couple i have listened to. These are Nick Drake, Iron and Wine, Sun Kil Moon, The Weepies, Belle and Sebastian, Neutral Milk Hotel, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, The Libertines, and The Rakes. Other bands i feel i should mention are Fleet Foxes, Arquitechture in Helsinki, Beirut, Arcade Fire, The Shins, and Of Montreal. I am probably forgetting something, but these are all the bands that pop into mind. As for what i hope to accomplish, i hope to buy some records, research some new bands, and figure out the ins and outs of records and record players. My sister said she would buy me a record player, and even though she is more than a month late, i am still holding out hope that one day i might see it. The main thing i am hoping to focus on will be starting my record collection and researching new musicians, hopefully of the folk genre, but i am also looking forward to the other aspects of this study."

Robert H.

"I like Bad Brains, Black Flag, Bad Manners, Big Star, Koffin Kats, Eater, The  

Fluid, House of Freaks, Joy Division, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Uncle  

Tupelo, The Cramps, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Violent Femmes,  

Weedeater, Zombina & The Skeletones, Municipal Waste"  

Scottie P.

"My musical taste is largely improvisational music, specifically Grateful Dead and Phish.  However, I love the counter culture music and the music of the 60s.  Other specific bands are The Allmans, Zeppelin, The Band, and The Who.  I love the guitar sounds of the 60s and 70s and older music is what i am interested in.  In terms of exposure to vinyl, i really have none.  I collect all of my music over the internet and through cds.  Being into bands like phish and the dead i do collect a lot of music because the live show is so important.  So i am into cataloging and organizing music by years and am interested in distinguishing between the different eras of the band. "

  

Nelson M.

"I like R.E.M, talking heads, the beatles, and the beach boys.  My parents grew up in the late 70's early 80's and i like to listen to the music that they had in high school and college.  I am willing to listen to bands with similar styles and influences of many of these bands.  I do not collect vinyal my dad just has a large CD collection from high school and college.  I have put must of these CD's on my itunes library.  I am not sure on what i am going to do my project on yet but am still looking for new interests."  

Hamilton S.

Thanks for reading!  More posts, pictures, and videos will follow of our experience soon!